


Heading Towards Judgement Day

by CuddlerOfDragons



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-03-19 12:00:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13704045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuddlerOfDragons/pseuds/CuddlerOfDragons
Summary: A series of AU chapters chronicling humanity's future.  Starting after the end credits of season 2, episode 6: Monster





	1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

A MOMENT OF CLARITY

 

 

Lux was closed.

On Halloween, one of the biggest party nights of the year, Lux was closed.

Chloe took the elevator straight up to Lucifer’s penthouse, terrified at what she might find.  His behaviour had been so extreme today…

The lights were low and broken glass crunched under her feet.  The place smelled like a drug den and had a horrible _crime scene_ vibe that it had never had before.  She ventured further in, her eyes adjusting to the gloom.

Lucifer was on the floor, propped up against his bed and wearing only his boxers.  His head was lolled back at a painful looking angle.

Someone was whimpering, a desperate moaning: ’No, no, no, no..’ it took Chloe a few seconds to realize that it was her.  She knelt on the floor next to him.

He looked dead.  Hanging out of his arm was a syringe that looked like it would be more at home dropping an elephant than a man.  It was empty, of course.  She gently pulled it out; a trickle of blood ran down Lucifer’s limp arm.  Instinctively she felt his neck for a pulse.  It was rapid and his skin was clammy and cool under her fingers. 

“Lucifer,” she said, gently slapping his face with one hand whilst reaching for her phone with the other.  “C’mon, wake up.”

“M’awake.” Lucifer mumbled, raising his head and simultaneously taking her phone and scooting it under the bed.  “Where were you an _hour_ ago, Detective?  You could have been here, making _this_ ,” he indicated the empty syringe. “more effective.  I can’t believe I blew my entire stash and for what?” His words sounded angry but his voice was a flat calm that raised the hair on the back of Chloe’s neck.

“You need a hospital.” She started to stand; a firm hand around her throat stopped her.

“Lucifer, let go of me.”

He wasn’t hurting her.  She had seen him do this to perps and had wondered, vaguely, why there was never evidence of it on their throats.  Now?  She didn’t understand how it could be possible to grip a person around the neck, without actually _gripping_ them.  He wasn’t holding her tightly but she couldn’t pry his fingers off.  His other hand pressed _her_ gun, barrel-first into _his_ chest - he must have lifted it from her the way he had taken Dan‘s, earlier.  She reached to take it from him and he clasped his hand around hers, pushing the barrel tighter to his skin, never once relaxing his grip on her throat.

“That’s it, Detective; all you have to do is pull the trigger.” He made it sound so _reasonable_ , a simple, gentle thing for her to do.

“Lucifer, _no_.” She looked into his eyes; they were glittering with unshed tears.

“What’s the matter?  You’ve killed before.  How about some nice bruises?  Proof of self defence?”

He increased the pressure of the tips of his fingers on her neck, his eyes never leaving hers.  She was in no doubt that there would be perfect fingerprint bruises left behind when this was over.

Deadlock.  She didn’t want to shoot Lucifer and she couldn’t get free. She held his gaze and he watched in horror as her eyes rolled back and she went limp.  He released her instantly and she fell forward onto his chest, dropping the gun.  She exhaled as she landed, her breath on his naked skin sending shivers up his spine.  It took him a few seconds to realize that she hadn’t _in_ haled again.

“ _Chloe_!” His drug induced calm detachment gone; he stood up without letting go of her limp body, in a manoeuvre that wouldn’t be possible for a human, gently laying her on the bed.  “Chloe, _please_.  I didn’t mean to hurt you, I…”

She inhaled.

“Oh, thank you, Dad.” He breathed.

“Now that I’ve got your attention, _talk_ to me.” She said.

“Right.  Yes.  Just give me two seconds, Darling.”

He clapped his hand over his mouth and ran for the bathroom.

When he had finished with the vomiting, Chloe handed him a glass with a greenish liquid in it.

“This should help.”

He swigged a huge gulp.

“ _No_ , don’t _swallow_ it!  It’s mouthwash.”

He vomited again.

“Why do you humans _do_ this?” He asked, after he’d rinsed his mouth and spit out the second lot of mouthwash.  “It’s vile.”

“Vomiting?  You can’t be saying you’ve never vomited before.”

“Never.  Hope I never will again.”

“Feel better?”

“Much, actually.”

“That’s one of the reasons we do it.”

“Where did you learn to play dead like that?”

“Acting class.”  She said with a shrug.

“Bravo, Detective.”

“It’s the first time someone threw up afterwards.”

“A performance worthy of an Oscar, your mum would be so proud.”

“She would.  Now, _talk_ to me.”

They sat on the bed.

“My brother died.” Lucifer said, his voice back to flat and dead, this time to distance himself from the emotion.

“Amenadiel?”

“No.  Another one.  It was my fault.  Tell me, Detective, how do you bear the guilt?”

“I…”

“You’ve killed…”

“When necessary.”

“Malcolm…”

“Had killed three people that we knew of.  Shot _you_ , was planning on killing me _and_ Trixie.  It’s not a crime when a person kills to prevent a murder.  Self defence or defence of others; it’s _justifiable_.”

She flashed back to earlier in the day when he had looked her in the eye and said ‘All killers must be punished’.

“It’s the guilt that sends you to Hell.” He said, his voice catching.

“I don’t believe in hell.  Not literal hell but _you_ do, is that why you wanted to die?”

“To be punished.  To go back to Hell and get what I deserve.“

“And what happens to the guilty, in hell?” She asked, genuinely interested to hear his beliefs.

“They’re punished by reliving their crimes for all eternity.”

“And you _want_ that?” She asked; then, gesturing to the empty scotch bottles and drug paraphernalia on the floor, “I thought that you were trying for oblivion.”

He thought about it.  He _was_ already reliving it in his mind - the feel of the blade sliding into his brother, the blood - wondering if he could have found another way to stop Uriel…

“I…”

“Would reliving it in Hell be better than reliving it here?” She asked, pressing her advantage.

“How did you…?”

“Of _course_ you’re reliving it.  Probably wondering if you could have avoided it, yeah?  What you could have done differently?”

“Yes.”

“What _could_ you have done differently?”

“He was going to kill our mother, and he threatened to…kill someone else… someone that I… It wasn’t just _talk_ , he _meant_ it.  We fought; I just wanted to _stop_ him.  I didn‘t intend… I didn‘t want…”

“And if the _only_ way to save these two intended victims was to kill _him_?”

“I would do it again.” He said with a cold, hard certainty.  He looked at her with wonder in his eyes.

“Will this come back on you?  Is there evidence?” She asked, suddenly worried about a whole different problem.

“I… don’t think so, the family…”

“Mafia clean-up crew?”  She asked, semi-serious.

“Oh, _way_ worse than the Mafia.”

She nodded; satisfied that she wouldn’t have to see her partner in jail.

“Have you eaten?”

“Not since…. the vending machine.”

“I’ll do you some warm milk, if you can’t face food.”

“Thank you.” He said, starting to shiver, “Warm milk it is.”

“Get under the covers,” Chloe said, “You’re freezing.”

She made him warm milk with honey and held his hand on the mug when he couldn’t stop shaking.

“Try to get some sleep.” She said, when the milk was drunk.

“Stay.  Please.”

“I guess Trixie will be OK with Maze.  I left her a note saying where I‘d gone.”

She peeled off her jeans and slid under the covers in just a T-shirt and underwear.

“I’ll sleep on top of the covers, then.” Lucifer started to get out of the bed.

“No.  Stay where you are, I trust you.”

At her words, his tears started to fall.  How could she _possibly_ be so trusting after what he had just tried to force her to do?

She held him in her arms and let him cry himself to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. That Makes Two Of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU of Season 2, Episode 13: A Good Day To Die. Lucifer goes to Hell and finds someone there that he's not expecting.

CHAPTER TWO

THAT MAKES TWO OF US

 

 

Lucifer shut the door behind him and stood in the corridor, reading the piece of paper in his hand.  He swiftly committed the formula to memory and waited for Linda and Maze to bring him back to life. 

From behind another door he could hear a piano playing - badly.  Piano lessons in hell, he thought, smirking.  It sounded like _his_ piano but even Chloe could play better than whoever _this_ was.  He toyed with the idea of going in…

“ ** _NO!!_** ”

The desperate scream came from behind yet another door and sounded a lot like…

“ ** _LUCIFER!!_** ”

…Chloe.

Without stopping to think, he charged through the door…

…and found himself in the aircraft hangar.

Malcolm was laying dead and forgotten on the floor and Chloe was kneeling next to… well… _him_.  His blood was spreading around him and she was sobbing.

“Please, Lucifer, don’t do this…”

“Detective,”  he whispered, gently, trying not to startle her; knowing she’d freak when she realized there were two of him.  She looked up.  There was no recognition in her eyes but she did look shocked.  He glanced down at his hand and realized he was wearing his ‘devil’ form.

O-kay.  Weird.

“What happened to _you_?” She breathed, “Was there a fire?”  She really _looked_ at him, her eyes steady.  “Sorry.  I didn’t mean to stare, it’s an old injury, isn’t it?”

“I…”  Burning up in the atmosphere, as he fell to Earth eons ago.  “Yes…How did you…?”  He asked, his voice sounding raspy.  What was she doing down here?  She couldn’t be _real_.

“It’s obviously scar tissue.  I should have realized.  Do you have a phone?  I can‘t get mine to work.”

“What happened here?” He asked her, knowing that this was a distortion of actual events.

“It’s all my fault.” She said, tears running down her face.  “He followed me here and distracted Malcolm…”  She indicated the dead body.

“I ran away and let Malcolm shoot him.  He’s dying because of _me_.  I shouldn‘t have run, I should have hit Malcolm while he was distracted, taken his gun… I should‘ve…”  Her breathing hitched.

So that was it; her guilt had brought her to hell but that must mean that she was _dead_.  **_No_**.  She was supposed to have _hours_ left before…

He looked down at himself, dying, on the floor; Chloe holding his hand.  Bloody hell, he looked bad - so much blood…  He remembered vividly how it had felt; not as painful as losing his wings but still horrible in its way.  The coldness as his blood left him through the exit wound in his back, the despair when he realized he couldn’t save Chloe… when he made a deal…

Chloe.  Crying over his corpse, again; their conversation forgotten.

“Come outside, with me,” Lucifer said, “You might be able to get a phone signal, out there.”

Chloe looked up at him.  Suddenly his ‘corpse’ coughed, blood running from his mouth.

“Don’t leave me.” He said, pitifully, clutching her hand, “ _Please,_ Chloe.”

“Just to check my signal, you need an ambulance.” She said, trying to pull her hand away.

“No, _please_ ; it’s _your_ fault I’m dying, the least you can do is _stay_ with me.”  He looked up at her with pitiful eyes.  “Why did you run, Chloe?”

His limp hand fell from Chloe‘s as he died.

The real Lucifer didn’t hesitate.  He wrapped his arms around Chloe just as her Hell reset.  Malcolm alive, Lucifer alive, Malcolm pulling the trigger…

“ ** _NO!“_**

Chloe screamed and fought as he dragged her towards the door, yelling his name, believing she was leaving him to die alone…

The door slammed shut.  Chloe slumped to her knees; a picture of despair.  Lucifer put his hand on her shoulder - a hand that looked human again.

“Detective.” He said, gently; his voice back to normal.

“Lucifer?” She whispered, looking up at him.  “You’re alright?”

“Of course.” He said, pulling her to her feet and hugging her. 

She looked around, taking in the black basalt columns and the soft fall of ash that surrounded them.

“What _was_ that, you _dying_ in there?  You’d never say those things to me, there’s no way that was _real_.”

“No, just shadows, designed to make you feel bad.  Not real.”

“Where are we?  And what is that _noise_?” She looked around, confused.

“We’re in Hell but don‘t worry, you‘re safe, now; I won‘t let anything hurt you.”  If she was dead, he would stay here with her; Linda wouldn’t be able to bring him back.  “Wait, what noise?” He could hear nothing out of the ordinary, it was fairly quiet in the corridors.

“Sounds like an alarm… and people shouting…”

“They’re working on you in the hospital, they’ll get you back.”  He sighed with relief.

She stared up into his eyes.

“I was reliving… _guilt_.  What you told me Halloween night… This is _real_.  Isn’t it.”  Not a question, a statement.

“Yes.  I’m the devil and this is Hell… and I love you.”

“I love you too.” She said, as though they had said it a thousand times before.  “You came back to Hell for me?”

“I got the formula for your antidote.  You’re going to be fine.”

Abruptly, she doubled over in pain.

“Agh, feels like someone punched me in the chest.”

“They’re restarting your heart…”

She vanished.

He stood there, alone.  He had never felt so bereft in all of his existence.

A sledgehammer hit him in the chest…

He opened his eyes and sat up; startling Linda who had just finished shocking him.

“Phone Ella.” he gasped, “There isn’t much time.”

***

It was quiet and dark in Chloe’s hospital room.  Lucifer sat in a corner and watched her sleep.  She was going to live.  She had only been dead for less than a minute.

He was furious.  He thought he understood his father’s plan, now.  When Chloe finally died, Lucifer would _have_ to return to Hell.  Either to get her out and into Heaven or to be with her.  On top of that, it turned out that Hell wasn’t even _fair_.  Chloe’s guilt over Malcolm killing _him_ \- a death that hadn’t even been _permanent_ \- had sent her there.  How many other souls were down there unjustly?

He was sick of being manipulated by his parents and he _still_ didn’t know if Chloe’s feelings for him were real.  He knew she _believed_ they were but what if he were no longer around…?

 


	3. The Bucket List

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Totally AU, picking up at the end of Season 3 - episode 6: Vegas With Some Radish.

PROLOGUE

“…so you see, if anything happens to me while Trixie is still a child, I need a guardian for her.”  Chloe said.

“Why _me_ , though?”  Doctor Linda Martin asked, “I haven’t spent enough time with her to be really _close_ to her…”

“I’m hoping you won’t have to do much; it’s just that Dan always puts his work first and even though I know that my Mom, Maze and Lucifer would probably all step up… for official decisions, I need someone who’s a grown-up.”

“I see what you mean,”  Linda said, smiling.  “You get the paperwork drawn up, I’ll sign and hope that it will never come to that.”

“Yeah, about that…” Chloe said.

***

Chloe hugged Lucifer, beyond happy with his birthday gift to her.  The trouble he had gone to; having _that_ bullet gold plated and made into jewellery.  Above all, him _knowing_ that something expensive would have meant less to her and may well have been rejected.

She kissed his neck, his skin warm under her lips.  He pulled back to see her face.  Oooh, much better; she kissed his mouth.

“Detective?”  He sounded like he had on the beach, when she had kissed him the _first_ time.  “How much have you had to drink?”

“ _Way_ less than you think.  Do you _really_ believe I have to be drunk to kiss you?”

“But, Detective…”

“You know, for someone who comes across as so confident, you have no sense of self worth at all, do you?”

“I…”

“Do you still want me?”  Now Chloe sounded unsure.

“Always but wouldn’t you rather wait until we‘re alone?”  He gestured to where Dan and Linda were sleeping

“This is a big place, you must have somewhere else we can go.”

He nodded.

“Good.  If the last year has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short to wait for the ‘perfect moment’.  We have to take them when we can.”

“And you’re _sure_?”

“Yes.  Even if we don‘t feel the same way about each other.  Even if it’s just great sex with no strings.  I think we can do this without ruining our working relationship and… I _really_ want to.”

She broke off as he picked her up in his arms and kissed her.  She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back, moaning as his tongue slipped between her lips.  He swiftly carried her to Maze’s old rooms, remodelled as a guest suite after she had moved out.

“You’re wearing my shirt.”  He murmured, lowering her to the bed.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be.  You can wear it always, if you want.”

“I was hoping to take it off, quite soon.”

“There’s no rush.”  He said, shrugging off his jacket and kissing her again.

She moaned into his mouth as her muscles tightened low in her abdomen.  She felt like she might climax just from him kissing her; his talented tongue exploring her mouth as he unbuttoned the front of her shirt with a light, deft touch.

This was like nothing she had ever experienced.

It was as though he was worshiping her; his fingers, his lips, his _tongue_ teasing her, through her clothing and then on naked flesh as he stripped her.  His own clothes gone without her seeing him undress; his warmth and unexpected _tenderness_.  In her limited experience with other men, she had never been with one that didn’t think that foreplay was a means to an end; a bit of token rubbing so they could get to the ‘main event’.  Not Lucifer.  He took a genuine delight in what he was doing to her.  His mouth and his fingers roaming over her body, gauging and enjoying her responses, her whimpering his name as she came undone, clawing the sheets, writhing with a pleasure so great it was almost pain.  Over and over, more times than she had dreamed were possible.

Much later, realizing that even though he was rock hard, he _still_ hadn’t penetrated her, hadn’t taken _anything_ for himself - what was he waiting for, _permission?_ He certainly didn’t need a _map -_   she straddled his lap and, poised above him, wrapped her fingers around his hard heat and rubbed the tip of him along her slit.  He groaned as she allowed gravity to slowly take her down, biting her bottom lip as, despite her wetness, she was stretched to accommodate him. He was a snug fit, leaving her feeling fuller than ever before.  He gasped as his hardness was engulfed in her velvety interior.  Sitting up, he drew his knees up to support her back and grasped her, his hands either side of her waist.  She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him.  Holding her steady, he brought his tongue into play again, feeling her tighten around him.

‘So responsive.’  He thought, as he held her still, preventing her from grinding herself against him.  ‘I am _not_ a two pump chump.’  He repeated in his head, over and over.

He gently ran his hands up her body, their tongues still dancing and felt every touch to her skin echoed inside her as her internal muscles fluttered around his hard shaft.

This was incredible.  He had had so much sex over the years, with eager partners whose desires were already known to him.  This was different; Chloe wasn’t the kind of woman whose desires were obvious and there was a possibility that she didn’t even know, herself, the full extent of them; he looked forward to helping her find out.  He gently stroked the smooth skin of her lower back and - cause and effect - felt her tighten around him.

‘You like that.’  He thought, remembering when he had checked her back for wings; an eternity ago, it felt like.  Had she been turned on then, he wondered; she had allowed it with no complaints.  She had been so patient with him, he realized, putting up with what she must have thought was his insanity.  She had been less patient of late - the first Vegas and Candy Morningstar incident had hurt her, badly - did _this_ , here and now, mean that he was forgiven?

He was so close now and, judging by the sounds she was making, so was she.  He kissed her harder, sucking her tongue into his mouth, she whimpered and ground down on him, he tightened his arms around her and… a perfect storm.

Everything happened at once.  Chloe bit down gently on his bottom lip as her insides spasmed around him, he surged upward into her, feeling as if he was turning inside out; his wings unfurled in an explosion of brilliant light and feathers, wrapping themselves protectively around the lovers as they shuddered their mutual completion. 

Chloe was limp, her head on his shoulder, sighing his name, as they clung to each other.

She raised her head, when her breathing had quietened a little.

“Lucifer,”  She said, looking at him in wonder.  “You…”

She stopped.  Time froze.

“Bloody hell.”  Lucifer said, keeping his wings protectively tight, shielding her and looking around the room.  “Who’s there?”

“How’s my favourite brother?”  A voice in the dim light of the bedroom.

“ _Half_ -brother, Jace.”  Lucifer corrected him.

“Whatever.  _You_ were the only one who cared enough to try to warn me about Father.”

“Not that you listened.”

“I never forgot, though.”

“Will this take long?  Only I’m busy here.”

“It’s important, Luce.”

“I should hope so.  Dad send you to have a go at me for violating his miracle, did he?”

“Father’s _gone_.  He’s been gone for around thirty years - started again, alone, in another reality - he won‘t be back.  Ensuring Chloe’s birth was one of the last things he did here, before he left.”

“Manipulating Bastard.”

“He didn’t make her for _you,_ he made her for _humanity_.  Your mother and Amenadiel thought that Chloe wasn’t supposed to exist but they had it the wrong way around.  Chloe _was_ meant to exist and then almost didn’t.  Father _had_ to intervene because of something Uriel did; messing around with causality…”

“But… she’s immune to me…”

“She has a spark of divinity, _none_ of us can dazzle her.”

“She was fairly dazzled by Amenadiel, when she first met _him_.”  Lucifer said, resentfully, remembering how she had behaved at that stupid auction, when he was looking for his wings.

“She was _faking_ it, winding you up.” Jace said, rolling his eyes.  “She didn’t know, then, how insecure you are.  That wasn’t their _first_ meeting, either.  _They_ met on the first case you worked; when Amenadiel had his necklace stolen.”

“She worked _that_ case?  I never saw her.”

“You stood behind her downstairs, in the club.  As close to her as I am to you, now.  You felt her presence, too; I watched you react.”

“I remember… that feeling was one of the reasons that I wanted to stay, wanted _this_ place.  Why didn’t Amenadiel feel anything if he met her first? 

“Thanks to Chloe’s father, _her_ divine spark is all about truth and justice, _you_ are all about truth and justice… If her father had been a _soldier_ , maybe Amenadiel…“ He shrugged.

“She feels like home, to me.  Nothing…nowhere ever has before.  Why _was_ she important to Dad, then?”

“For Beatrice, of course.”

“The _Spawn_.”

“ John Decker was destined to be Beatrice’s grandfather.  Uriel messed up and Decker married a sterile woman, instead of… well, that doesn’t matter; the thing is, no _Chloe_ Decker, no _Beatrice_.  The child will grow up to be pivotal.”

“She won’t end up the way _you_ did, will she?”  Lucifer asked, dreading the answer.

“No.  Neither will her sister.”

“What?  She has a _sister_?”

“This is one of the things I need to tell you.  When Father had to get involved in Chloe’s birth he added a _possibility_.  With Beatrice, the father was irrelevant - any man would do but with her sister..?  He knew that _you_ visited Earth, periodically and that you had fun with many human partners.  He knew that if you ever met Chloe _you_ would be drawn to her spark but _she_ would be immune to your charisma.  He was rolling the dice; a percentage of the humans saved by Beatrice, plus the possibility of a larger number of them saved because of you and Chloe getting together.  He didn’t even care which way it went.  It’s a big city, you might never have met;  Chloe has a dangerous job, she could have died before you chanced on each other, she could have been happily married; you could have even _rejected_ each other.“

“She _wasn’t_ manipulated?“

“Not by _Father_ , although _you_ had a good go at it; mostly because of Amenadiel and your Mother.  You didn’t have to fall in _love_ , you only had to have _sex_ \- once.  Thankfully, circumstances fell in humanity’s favour, last night.  When I restart time, Lucinda Decker-Morningstar, Father’s last gift to us, will be conceived.”

“Wha…?”  Lucifer had never been more shocked in his entire existence. 

“Because of what you just did to Chloe.”  His brother said, slowly, as though his brother was missing something obvious.

“Not _to_ her, _with_ her.”  Lucifer spat, angrily.

“Not the _sex_ Luce, although obviously...  What you did to her with your _wings_.  Don’t tell me you don’t realize.”

“Jace, _please_.  Tell me I haven’t harmed her.”

“You haven’t.  You’ve saved _her_ life _and_ the rest of the planet.  Well done.”

“Her _life_..?”

“Look, Luce, I need to talk to _both_ of you and I don’t think that Chloe will be happy meeting me until she’s showered and put some clothes on.  I’ll be downstairs, in the bar; I’ll explain everything.  Oh, except for the specifics of the girls’ destinies; it doesn’t do for parents to know too much about the futures of their spawn.”  He smiled as he said ‘spawn’.

“Lucinda?  _Seriously?_ ”

“Trust me, Beatrice will insist.”

“…have wings!”  Chloe said, in his ear.

Lucifer blinked.  His brother was gone and time had restarted.  He stared at Chloe, knowing that inside her their daughter was beginning.

“ _How_ do you have wings?”  She breathed, shocked.

“Before I was the devil, I was an archangel.”  He said, folding his wings away.

Chloe leaned over to look at his back.  His perfect, unscarred back.

“Where did they..?  You…they… you said…Maze…”

“Cut them off.  Yes.  When I woke up in the desert, after my devil-napping, they’d grown back.”

“Were _they_ what you were trying to show me?  In the lab, that day?”

“No.  I’d cut them off that morning.  I was trying to show you my face.  You’re taking this _very_ well.”

“Your _face_ …red?  Burnt?  Fires burning in your eyes?”

“How?”  His turn to be shocked.

“You dragged me out of Hell, remember?”

“ _I_ remember.  I didn’t realize that _you_ did.”

“I’ve thought about it a lot; at first I thought I must have been dreaming.”  She said, climbing off his lap and wrapping a sheet around herself. 

She took his hand and snuggled up to him.  He wanted a cigarette but knew, for the sake of his unborn child, he would never smoke again.

“I thought it had been a dream but then they told me I _had_ died, briefly.  They said that Amenadiel wouldn’t let me be moved out of the room, until you ‘got back’.  Dan said you got the formula for the antidote and that you wouldn’t say how but that you looked ‘monumentally wrecked.’  He said your shirt was open and you had one of those heart monitor sucker things stuck to you… He laughed, can you believe it?  He _actually_ laughed and said you looked like you’d been to Hell and back.”

She looked up into his eyes and said:

“and, of course, you had.”

“Yes.  The only place the antidote existed was in the head of a dead man.”

“And if you hadn’t, I’d still be down there.”  She continued, as if she hadn’t heard him.  “Watching you die, over and over again.”

Her tears were starting to fall, now and Lucifer kissed her forehead.

“My brother was just here, he’s waiting downstairs to talk to us both.”  He said but she wasn’t stopping.

“When you came back to me, I was going to tell you… ask you.. give you the chance to… but you were _married…_ and when you went away again, yesterday… I thought…”

“I’m so sorry.”  He said, tears of his own joining hers.

“Your brother was here?  Amenadiel?”  She said, suddenly, scrubbing her hand across her eyes.

“No, the famous one.  We need to get dressed.”

“OK.”

She left the sheet behind and walked into the bathroom.  When she yelped he ran to her.

“What’s wrong?”

She was staring into the full length mirror but he couldn’t see anything that would have made her cry out that way.

“What did you do?”  She whispered.  Not taking her eyes from her reflection.

“I don’t understand.  What do you mean?”

“ _Look_ at me.  Can’t you see it?”

“You’re beautiful.  You always are.”  He said, baffled.

“Look at my _shoulder_ , Lucifer.  Where I was shot.”

He looked.  Her skin was perfect, no scars.  He glanced down to where she had had her bite scar.  Nothing.  Smooth perfect skin.  All over.

“I’m younger, too.”

“No.  You always looked like this.”

She smiled at that and got in the shower.  Lucifer went to sort them out some clean clothes.

 

 

Chloe’s hair was still damp when she shook hands with the man that Lucifer introduced as ‘Jace’.  Although he was seated, Chloe figured that he was much shorter than Lucifer.  His skin was a shade or two darker and his black hair was long and tied back at the nape of his neck.  He had helped himself in the bar of the empty nightclub and was sipping a white wine spritzer.  Lucifer poured himself a scotch and an orange juice for Chloe.

“Did you tell her, yet.” Jace asked.

“No.  We had to get the whole ‘winged devil’ thing out of the way and then the fact that she has no scars, suddenly.”  Lucifer said, downing his scotch and pouring another.

“Don’t you think that you should?”

“Tell me what, Lucifer?”

“Sit down, Detective… Chloe and please don’t be angry; I promise that I did _not_ know that this could happen…”

“What?  Is this about me looking younger?”

“I… that is..we…seem to have ….made a baby.” He _really_ wished he hadn’t joked about ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ the other time she had woken up in his bed.

Chloe laughed.

“Don’t be silly, Lucifer.  Even if it wasn’t too soon to know that, it’s not possible for me.”

“But the Spawn…”

“There were complications when she was born.  There were never going to be any more babies.”  Her voice was tinged with regret.

“Miss Decker, Chloe, when Lucifer wrapped his wings around you, do you remember a bright light?”  Jace asked, gently. 

“Yeah…I had to close my eyes…and it was _still_ bright.”

“He healed you, in that moment.  It wasn’t planned, it was an instinctive move based on his thoughts at the time.”  He turned to Lucifer.  “Tell her what you were thinking.”

“Even though you don’t feel the same way about _me_ , I was wishing that I could have you with me for the rest of my existence.”

“And you, Chloe?” Jace continued.

“I never wanted it to end.  He only ever has his ‘names on a list’ but I wanted to be so much more.”  She wouldn’t meet Lucifer’s eyes.  “Now I _know_ I can’t.  Ever.  He’s an actual celestial being and I’m…just a human; why would he…?”

“I can _not_ take this any more.”  Jace said, reaching out and putting his right hand, palm down, on Chloe’s forehead and his left hand on Lucifer’s.

They both froze.

Chloe was abruptly inside Lucifer’s head for every key moment in their relationship.  Looking out of his eyes, feeling what he was feeling, images and emotions coming thick and fast: his growing love for her as they worked together.  His jealousy over Dan.  His respect for her abilities.  His bewilderment at his vulnerability around her.  His distrust of his feelings.  His deal with God as he lay dying in his own blood.  Chloe’s car ‘accident’.  Killing his own brother to protect _her -_ his desperate need to stop Uriel’s plan, the way the knife had felt in his hand (natural, inevitable, _right_ ) - the sickening feeling of the blade sliding in. _Guilt._ Death-wish, sniper, drugs, _Chloe_.  The blade in human hands - _Daniel slashing at him with it -_ bleeding through his shirt.  Not losing Lux.  Dinner date - feelings, (love?) fear.  _Guilt_.  The trial (‘she refused to betray you, she‘s _different‘_ ).  Long line of lovers ‘best night of my life: meaningless sex.’  His _shame_.  Realizing he wasn’t good enough for her, telling her.  Joy when she kissed him.  Elation when he believed she loved him.  Crashing desolation when he believed it to be lies made by his father (of _course_ it‘s not real).  Saving her from the poison.  Leaving her to give her back her free will and marrying Candy, to keep her safe from his mother (‘When I _squash_ that worthless bug, you‘ll come home with _us_ , my Morningstar.’).   Rescuing her from his mother, on the pier, when she hadn’t even known she was in danger.  Sending his mother to a whole new universe, with _that_ sword.  Chloe, the lights of the pier behind her, talking to him about forgiveness, mistakes, flaws, _knowing_ him….  Does she _know_? Deciding to show her his other face, getting hit on the head and waking up in the desert with his wings back.  The Sinnerman.  Pain at her not believing that The Sinnerman existed ( _I_ believed _you_ about Palmetto).  Lt, Pierce confirming and telling Lucifer NOT to involve Chloe.  Wanting to protect her, not wanting to lie to her, wanting to be close to her, not wanting to endanger her.  Confusion. Pain. Trying to be what he _was_ before _her_.  Drugs, drink, partying.  _Emptiness_.  Other people in his bed (not _her,_ not good enough) going through the motions, _pretending_ it was enough. Heart’s not in it (what heart?) Pretending to be satisfied, pretending to be happy, pretending.. Living a _lie_. Lies, lying: **_LIAR_**. Wanting _her_. Always.Always. Needing,HurtingLoveLove LoveLoveLove…

 

Lucifer was an island, a rock, to paraphrase the song.  No one could love him (I’m worthless, I don’t deserve love) but almost anyone could have him and then there was _Chloe_.  He saw himself through her mind - her memories.  Her anger when they first met and he seemed to think she was just a sex object.  Her annoyance at finding him under her feet the whole time she was looking into Delilah’s murder.  Getting shot.  Fear. Seeing _him_ shot, more than once. Not dead, not wounded (Not possible)  Her wanting to hit Dan when he thought she had slept with Lucifer after he found them together in her kitchen.  Wanting to hit Lucifer too.  Her outrage at his scars - **_who hurt him?_** \- her first glimpse of his soul.  Shooting him, watching him bleed; _guilt -_ I _hurt_ him instead of protecting him.  Her confusion when other people saw something (terror, insanity) in Lucifer that _she_ couldn’t see or feel.  The pleasure at solving crimes quicker than without him.  The way he lit up a room just by walking into it ( _Lightbringer_ ).  His weird innocence.  His belief in her (unlike Dan).  The terrible moment when she saw the dead man on the floor at Lux; _knowing_ that Lucifer hadn’t done it but knowing that the other police coming down the stairs wouldn’t see it that way.  Having to pull her gun on him so that the others wouldn’t feel the need to shoot him, get the cuffs on him, he‘ll be safe.  Her agony at his look of betrayal, her terror when he seemed to court ‘death by cop’; his vanishing (not possible).  His getting shot by Malcolm (her fault) him dying and getting better (not possible),  Him smoothing over what she had done (borrowing evidence) charming her superiors into letting it drop.  Her disbelieving Amenadiel’s lame explanation.  _Ignoring_ the impossible, burying it deep inside. Needing the eggs, needing _him_ , trusting him, _feeling_ … seeing him out of control, wanting to help, be a good friend.  ‘Lucifer Morningstar is _not_ a liar.’  The long line of sex partners (best night of my life) Why _not_ her? The kiss on the beach.  The dream with the horns.  Maze saying ‘Loosen up’ - trying to - not knowing how, getting it wrong…scaring him off…blood pouring out of her…poison…(did you know this whole bloody time?!)…dying - Hell - guilt…waking up alone… _alone_ , empty, scared for him, where _is_ he?  Candy Morningstar…feeling like a huge rusty knife was digging her heart from her chest. _How could he?_ Still working together, still feeling, _hurting,_ can‘t talk to him about it. Test results, despite antidote; negative impact of designer poison (probable future organ failure (transplants?), shortened lifespan. Dying?) No one to talk to. Feelings. Love. Love. (Oh Trixie, how long can I be here for you?) Bucket list. Birthday. Stripper, (ick!) Lucifer: ‘Focus on getting older’ (He knows! How does he know? Doesn’t he _care_?) Linda: ‘He doesn’t know _that_ he’d have talked to me he’d have broken my door down to talk to me’ (Oh Chloe I’m _so_ sorry) Alone. Birthday. Another year closer to the grave, to Hell, seeing him die over and over Love him why did he leave me? Vegas, radish, want him, need him, messed it up, spoiled it, stupid Chloe. AloneLoveNeed LovehimLoveHim.

 

It stopped.  Back in their own heads, tears streaming down their faces, both of them driven to their knees, clinging to each other.

“I’m sorry,” Jace said, his eyes projecting kindness and regret, “But you two were _never_ going to talk it out and I can’t watch the ‘will they, won’t they’ any longer.  You’re in love with each other, you’re stronger together and you’re having a daughter in nine months time.  Deal with it.”

“Powerful little sod, aren’t you.”  Lucifer said, his voice catching, giving away the emotional pain he was feeling.

“No more than you.  The difference is, I _believe_ in my ability.”

“Lucifer, when did we go back upstairs?”  Chloe asked and Lucifer realized that they were on the floor next to the sofa up in the penthouse.  Linda and Dan must have left.

“You had cleaning staff coming in, downstairs.  We need privacy.” Jace said, looking around at the mess.  “Wow, must have been some party.”

Chloe looked around to see how bad it was and it… wasn’t.  It  looked like a team of cleaners had already been in.

“Now you’re just showing off,”  Lucifer said.

“I’m making a point.  You need to listen to me and, even more important, _believe_.  Chloe’s life depends on it.”

“Alright, I’m listening.”

“Chloe does _not_ make you mortal.  _You_ are making you mortal whenever she is close enough for you to sense and the longer you know her, the further away she has to go to be out of range.  Your therapist told you that you were giving Chloe power over you and you should ‘demystify’ her.  You interpreted _that_ to mean that you had to have sex with her.  Of _course_ she turned you down.  Of _course_ you took that to mean that you weren’t good enough.  Later that day, you urged Chloe to shoot you.  By then your subconscious had made you mortal around her, as a way of equalizing the two of you.”

“No, that can’t be..”

“You _know_ how fluid reality is for us.  _I_ gave you back your wings; yes I _know_ but you need them,” He said, pre-empting Lucifer’s anger.  “ _You_ took your devil face from your _self_.  Deep down you were afraid for Chloe to see it, in case she reacted the way Linda did - or worse.  _You_ took the option away.

“At the risk of sounding like a therapist, you _have_ to stop letting other people define you, Luce.  Not Father, not the Siblings, not humanity, not Chloe.”

“Me?” Chloe whispered.

“You don’t believe in The Devil, sorry, _didn’t_ believe.  You thought he was a messed up human.”  He rolled his eyes,  “Father made an atheist, with a divine spark; it’s almost funny.  Your belief, _lack_ of belief, reinforced Lucifer’s and made it easier for him to be mortal around you.”

“No… lots of people don’t believe he’s the devil…” Chloe protested.

“But yours is the only opinion that _matters_ to him.” Jace countered.

“You need to stop being mortal, _now_ because you’ve tied Chloe’s life to your own.  If you die, _she_ dies.  You’ve turned her into an eternal twenty year old and if anything happens to you…”

“I’m going to look twenty, _forever_?  How am I going to _explain_ that?”

“Seriously, _that_ is what you focus on?  Every day, since the test results you wake up, worrying about how much longer you have left and now you’re _healed,_ you’ll never get sick again, _ever_ and you’re griping because you look _young_?   _Please_ , this is LA, just hint at plastic surgery.  Or when you go back into work, maybe everyone will think it’s the healthy glow of good sex!” Jace said, scornfully.

“Sorry,” Chloe said, quietly.

“But…” Lucifer started.

“ _Believe_ in yourself, Brother.  You _always_ had free will, how else could you have rebelled?   When it all went wrong, Father had no choice, he couldn’t back down.  You didn’t _fall_ , you were pushed.  The Sibs exaggerated your crimes - labelled you evil, _humanity_ blamed you for _their_ sins.  All of it _lies_.  You didn’t lose your power the way Amenadiel did because you weren’t _guilty_.  Your bad image is just propaganda.”

“You weren’t even _born_ then…and Mother said…”

“Ah, the _Queen_ of Lies?  I’m fifty percent Father,” Jace smiled, “I _know_ stuff.”

“I’m half Dad, too…”

“Your parents were equals, you’re a blend.  My mother was human - powerless and passive - of _course_ Father’s powers dominate me.  It’s like a download, like _your_ language skills; I can access all of his memories and I count myself lucky that he didn’t take it all away when he went.”

“Dad’s really _left_?”  Lucifer asked, shocked at what he was being told.

“Yeah, don‘t tell anyone _else_.   I’ve been keeping it a secret from The Sibs, a bit like that movie ‘Nine to Five’ but without the bondage.  Trouble is, they’ve started making their own decisions since He left.  I’ve been trying to keep them off _your_ back but they all think they know what Father _wants_.  Amenadiel thought He wanted _you_ back in hell, whatever the cost and we both know how _that_ worked out.  Uriel.. Well, he’s been a problem since before Chloe was born and he thought your ‘deal with God’ was the perfect excuse...”

“Yeah, about that…”

“Even _you_ thought you knew that Father wanted your mother back in Hell; I just wanted you to use your own judgement with her, before she found out that He was gone.  All of us heard you make that deal and what did you even _offer_?  To be the son He always wanted?  _That‘s_ open to interpretation.  I took the opportunity to show you that your mother had escaped and then brought you back to life; although I would have brought you back anyway, partly because it was Amenadiel’s intervention that got you killed, partly because you couldn’t sort your Mother out if you were stuck in Hell but _mostly_ in answer to _Beatrice’s_ prayer.”

“Trixie _prayed_?”  Chloe was shocked.

“Her school friend told her who to pray to if she ever needed help.  When she saw you shot, Luce, she did the only thing she could think of.  She did it beautifully and was very specific: ‘Please don’t let Lucifer die. Thank you.’  She’ll go a long way, that one.”

“And what about this one?”  Lucifer asked, resting his hand on Chloe’s abdomen.

“Lucinda Decker-Morningstar _will_ save humanity from themselves.  She was Father’s farewell gift but _only_ if you two exercised your free will and became lovers.  The world was very nearly doomed.”

“Lucinda?  _Seriously?_ ”  Chloe was having a hard time with this.

“Beatrice will insist.”  The two brothers spoke in unison.

“Ooh, Okay.  Can I ask…?  Is my dad… up there?”

“Yeah and he’s _really_ proud of you.  He and his cop friends run bets on how you and Luce can screw each other up.  His friends call you ‘Storm-eater‘, because of how you handle him when he’s angry.”

“So if we hadn’t…”  Lucifer started, “The world would _end_?”

“But isn’t Lucinda the… Anti-Christ?” Chloe asked, nervously.

“Yes.  But in a _good_ way.  _She_ will be effective.  Humanity _will_ be saved.”

“A new religion?”  Lucifer asked, scornfully.

“No.  I think we all know that religion, over the millennia, has been a total clusterfuck;  an excuse for humans to hurt each other.  Good people don’t need the fear of Father to help them be good and bad people shouldn’t be able to murder in His name, _any_ of his names.  Hell _shouldn’t_ be full of the misguided faithful!  Lucinda will be behind the scenes, no one will know that she’s responsible.  This time it _will_ work.”

“What about free will?”  Lucifer growled.

“We each behave according to our natures, there are _always_ choices.”  Jace said, rolling his eyes.  “Chloe could choose _not_ to have the baby…”

“I would _never_ …”  She whispered, horrified; already thrilled at being pregnant again.

“..You, Luce, could choose to abandon your new family, in favour of your wastrel existence: drinking, smoking, meaningless sex with a variety of strangers.  Deny the love you feel for Chloe and let her raise your child alone…”

“No.  I’ll never want anyone else and I‘d never abandon my child.”  Lucifer said, vehemently.

“Chloe could choose _not_ to forgive you and decide to raise Lucinda alone or with a different partner.  Someone new.”  Jace said, looking meaningfully at Lucifer.  “Someone _else_.”

Lucifer growled and Chloe gasped as he changed his flawless skin for a burned ruin and his dark eyes for burning red hellfire.  The glass he was holding broke in his hand and the razor sharp pieces, rather than cutting him, fell harmlessly to the floor.

“Ah, good, you have control over yourself, again.”  Jace said, irony in his voice.  “It wouldn’t do to have Chloe lose her new immortality because you happen to get shot while you’re feeling vulnerable.”

“What _is_ the deal with that?”  Chloe asked, absently stroking Lucifer’s shiny, scarred hand.  He felt the rage drain out of him, ‘Storm-eater’ indeed.

“When I gave him his wings back, I thought he’d use a single feather to heal you, I didn’t expect him to use his entire wingspan.  I can’t change what he’s done.

“Even if you choose _not_ to stay together, _your_ life _will_ end with _his_.  If _he_ dies, you both go to the afterlife together.”  Jace put his hand over theirs.  “Hell is a big place, Chloe and if you end up there you will _not_ have to be with him if you don’t want and you will _never_ be punished there, I promise you.  You don’t deserve it.“

“ _You_ sent her there, when she was poisoned.  You _punished_ her.“  Lucifer snarled.  Chloe tightened her grip on his hand.

“I _had_ to, you could never have got her out of _Heaven_ and she _had_ to be in a punishment room; imagine what the demons would have done to her if she‘d been wandering the corridors.”

“You _wanted_ us together?” Chloe asked.

“I’m half human, of _course_ I want humanity saved.  I’ve watched the two of you but I’ve done _nothing_ to influence your decisions.” He smiled at Chloe.

“You can choose, right now, to never see Lucifer again, if it’s what you wish.”

Chloe turned to look at Lucifer.

“Did we really tell each other ‘I love you’ when we were in Hell or did I dream that part?” She asked, looking into his eyes. The flames were gone from them and he looked incredibly sad.

“We did.  It’s nigh on impossible to conceal your true feelings in Hell, Darling.”

“And _then_ you ran off and got married.”

“To protect you.  My mother had already tried to blow you up in your car.”  Lucifer sounded defeated.  By rights Chloe should dump him now.

“If you die, I’ll be dragged to hell with you.”

“I have no excuse..” His voice broke and his tears started to fall.

“I choose to stay with him,”  Chloe said, looking at Jace and tightening her grip on Lucifer’s now human looking hand, “If he still wants me.”

“Always, Darling.”  Lucifer whispered, wonder in his eyes.

Jace smiled, clasped both his hands around Chloe’s and Lucifer’s and stood up.

“What I have joined, let no one put asunder.”  He said, his voice sounding more powerful and rattling the windows.

He leaned in and kissed them both on the forehead, then, with the sound of fluttering wings, he vanished.

“Did he just…?” Chloe asked.

“He _married_ us.” Lucifer said, scowling.  “He didn’t even _ask_ if we wanted..” 

Chloe kissed him.

“Shut up and take me back to bed.” She said.

She kissed him again.  He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

***

“Tell me about your bucket list,” Lucifer said, “Was there anything _really_ naughty on it?”

“From your point of view it was very dull.” Chloe replied, snuggling closer to him.  “Mostly, living long enough to be there for Trixie’s milestone events - graduating, marrying, having children, that sort of thing.”

“But I _was_ on it?”

“Oh yes.  ‘Experience the best night of my life with the man I love’ the one thing on my list that didn’t involve me having to live for years.”

They’d spent hours, now; making love, talking, making love again - neither feeling the need to sleep.

“I understand why you didn’t tell me that you were ill.  I’ve made so many mistakes.  All I can say is that I’d never felt the way I felt for _you_ before.  The love I felt for my parents and siblings was a different emotion that ended in pain and betrayal.  I had no idea how to deal with this new kind of love.”

“I had so many theories about you…”

“Do tell.” Lucifer prompted, with a smirk.

“At first, I thought that you grew up in an abusive religious cult, somewhere in Britain.  They named you after the devil, mutilated your back and brought you up to believe that you _were_ the _actual_ devil.  After you were rescued, the police files were sealed to protect you and the others.  It explained why your records only went back a few years because maybe you weren’t registered at birth.  I used to hope that your parents got life imprisonment.” 

“And then?” He had a warm feeling at the thought of his parents in jail.

“After what happened with your brother…Uriel?  I decided that you hadn’t been rescued at all and that your ‘family’ was some kind of super secret, powerful mafia-type organization; happy to commit and cover up crimes and that you…”

“I..?”

“Were, maybe, trying to break away and that the crime solving, with me, was about trying to absolve…”  She held him closer.  “Oh and at one point I thought you were maybe an alien.”

He laughed, kissing the top of her head.

“Ah, aliens.  They get the blame for so much these days that _I_ used to be blamed for.”

“Like what?”

“Crop circles, for one.”

“When were _you_ blamed for _those_?”

“In England, 1647.”

“Wait, crop circles were happening _that_ long ago?”

“Oh, yes - they charmingly blamed ‘The Mowing Devil’ - like _I_ could be bothered to flatten their fields.”

“So, do aliens exist?”

“Of course.  You don’t think that Dad only put life on _this_ planet, do you?”

“But they’re too far away to visit us, right?” Chloe said, moving so that she could look at his face while he answered her.

“Not at all, if they have the right technology.  Had a human looking one in Lux a while back, the two of you were in the same room, briefly.”

“Seriously?  Introduce me next time.”

“I may have _upset_ his human companion, they probably won’t be back.”

“Wait, do they really abduct…?”

“And do anal probing?” He laughed.  “Not that _particular_ alien, no.  I don’t know that much about the others…” He smirked, running his hand down her naked back, “I know _all_ about anal probing, though..” He purred, his finger sliding closer to Chloe’s tight little hole.

“Lucifer!” She squealed.

“Oooh, virgin territory, Darling?  Don’t you worry, I’m _the_ best person to pop _that_ cherry.”

“What if I don’t want..?”

“Trust me; handled right, you’ll be begging..”

“ **Lucifer**?”  Maze shouted from the elevator, “You in here?”

Chloe dived beneath the sheets.

“Dan The Douche is downstairs, he says he’s misplaced Decker.” Maze continued, walking towards the bedroom.

“He can’t see me like _this_.” Chloe said, emerging from the sheet.

“ _Finally_!”  Maze said, looking at them, “Or did you just _sleep_ together?  You know, with actual snoring.”

“How do we make him go away?  I’m not ready.”  Chloe sounded panicky.

“I could knock him out, strip him and put him in someone’s bed.  _Really_ funny, last time.”  Maze said, wandering back to the bar and pouring herself a drink.

“ _I’ll_ talk to him.” Lucifer said, pulling on the clothes that he’d left in a heap by the bed, “Maybe distract him by asking about his safe cracking hobby.”

“I know you don’t lie but…” Chloe said, worriedly.

“I will be the _soul_ of discretion; he might jump to conclusions, though.” He replied, looking down at his rumpled suit.

“I‘d rather tell him and Trixie at the same time but if he figures it out don’t tell him we’re _married_!”

Maze choked on her drink.

“We’re _not_ , by human laws; my divorce’s not through yet.” Lucifer said walking to the elevator, “but as soon as it is…”

“And whatever you do, _don’t_ tell him about the _baby_!”

Maze dropped her glass.

“ _How_ long have I been gone?  Did I get caught in a time warp?” Maze asked and then she got a proper look at Chloe.  “What the fuck, Decker?  What. The. _Actual_. Fuck?”

“Lucifer did a thing.”

“Oh, I’ll just _bet_ he did and now _you’re_ looking all ‘Hot Tub High School’ young and firm.” She licked her lips, suggestively.

“A lot happened, last night…and… this morning?  Today, anyway.”

“Married?  _Baby_?  Care to talk about it?”

“Lucifer’s brother, Jace, was here.  He explained some stuff and married us.”

“Jace?” Maze asked, flatly.

“That’s what Lucifer called him, said that he was famous but I didn’t recognise him.”

“No.  He certainly doesn’t look like his pictures.”

“So, what’s he famous for?”

“He’s not usually called ‘Jace’.  That’s just what Lucifer calls him.  You know how he likes to come up with names for people.  Jace is from the sound of his initials.  ‘Jacey’ would be too cute, so…”

“Jacey… J.C.?“ Chloe said, sounding it out, “ Not…Jesus Christ?” She squeaked.

“Exactly.”

“ _Jesus_ married us?” Her legs gave out and she sat down on the bed.

“Smells like it,” Maze said, stepping closer and sniffing the air around Chloe.

“So having sex and babies without being married really _is_ a sin?”

“No,” Maze laughed, “he did it to protect you.” Maze sniffed her again.  “Any demon you meet now, will know you to be Lucifer’s consort and won’t lay a hand on you.  Any angel will know you two have divine approval.  Maybe they’ll all leave Lucifer alone, now.”

***

Lucifer stepped out of the elevator and walked to where Dan was waiting.

“Daniel,” He said, feeling that attack would be the best form of defence, “Have you come to talk about the hole in my bedroom wall?”

Dan blushed.

“Sorry about that, Chloe and Linda insisted…”

“And you couldn’t resist, couldn’t say no?  Did The Detective pull a gun?”

“Well, no but they were drunk and they’d already looked in your sock drawer…”

“My sock drawer..?” Now Lucifer was genuinely puzzled, “Why would they want to look at my socks?”

“See, when you say things like that, I almost believe that you’re not human.”

“Because I keep socks in my sock drawer?”

“Traditionally, you hide secret things in your sock drawer.”

“I don’t have secret things and I have a wall safe.”

“Things like.. ah… love letters?  Maybe.“

“If I had ever been blessed with such a thing, they would be in my wall safe.“

“Diary?”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow but admitted to nothing.

“Drugs?”

“Not in with my socks, no.”

“What about condoms, I’m sure you have those.”

“Of course.  I keep them in a drawer by the bed, with the sex toys.  Butt plugs, nipple clamps, dildos, vibrators, lubes…”

“OK, _enough_ , I get the picture.  Sorry about your wall.” Dan was getting more and more uncomfortable.  “I’m here because Chloe didn’t go home and I think her phone’s switched off.  She’s got some time off work and my parents have got Trixie for a few days, so it’s no biggy, I just wanted to check that she’s OK.”

“She spent the night in the guest suite.” Lucifer said, truthfully. “We didn’t sleep together.” _‘We stayed awake, it was more fun.’_

 _“_ Hey, not what I’m asking…” Dan’s eyes roamed over Lucifer’s usually immaculate - now crumpled - suit.

“My brother came by this morning, helped with the clear-up.” Lucifer said, casually planting the idea that _he_ got rumpled whilst clearing up after the party.

“Well, send me the bill for the wall.  I’ve got to get back to work, get Chloe to call me later.”

“I’ll do that.”

Lucifer watched Dan leave, smirking at the idea of making him pay Jace for fixing the wall…

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The alien reference will be picked up in a little one-off Dr. Who crossover inspired by 'Mistaken Identity' by Pellaaearien, just as soon as I finish writing it!


	4. Marriage Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Chloe make plans for the future and Dan has an unexpected visitor.

MARRIAGE PLANS

 

The beach next to Santa Monica pier was deserted at this time of the morning.  It was still dark, the air cool, so that _couldn’t_ be a heat haze hovering above the sand.  No one saw the rippling patch of air grow larger and a young man - maybe twenty or so - carrying a sword, step out, as if through a doorway.  He tucked the sword into a fold in his robe and strode off toward the city.

***

Lucifer was falling.  His wings had been viciously broken by his brothers and now he had been chucked in the general direction of Hell.  It was going to be a long and painful decent and the worst part?  He wasn’t alone.  He held Chloe close to his chest, her head tucked under his chin; wrapped his ruined wings around her as best he could and made sure he fell backwards, keeping his body between her and the excruciating heat.

“Lucifer?” Chloe had the palm of her hand against his chest and she was pushing him, gently.  “Lucifer, wake up.”

His eyes snapped open.  He was in bed, Chloe draped over him, concern in her eyes.

“I was dreaming.” He breathed in relief.

“Yeah, I got that.  The one about falling to Hell and taking me with you?“

Lucifer nodded.

“You only ever dream that when something _else_ is bothering you.  Are you stressing about today?”

“Are you _sure_ that you don’t want me to be there?  _Im_ moral support. ” He said, smirking.

“Best not; Dan’s going to be freaked enough, without _you_ there to annoy him more and give him a focus.”

“Well, _I’ve_ got some things to do at Lux, I’ll pick the two of you up this evening.  Don’t do anything to spoil your appetites.”

Chloe smiled, things were going so well.  She hadn’t realized just how tense both she and Lucifer had been, until it was gone.  Of course it wasn’t just the sex - for _her_ the months of worry over the after effects from her poisoning had been weighing heavily too.  For _him_ the constant expectation of betrayal, his conviction that he wasn’t worthy of love; all swept away in those painful moments of memory swap.  Now?  _Her_ only major worry was telling Dan and Trixie that she was marrying Lucifer.

Going back to work _had_ been slightly stressful, in that ‘celebrate a thirty-something birthday then go back into work four days later looking twenty’ kind of way.  She had decided that misdirection was the way to go and had had her hair radically changed.  She was now sporting a very practical ‘pixie’ cut, which everyone said made her look _years_ younger.  Lucifer had to be different, of course, _he_ said she looked delightfully pagan, like an adorable woodland sprite and later worshipped her on a bed of rose petals.  Now, she couldn’t smell roses without wanting him inside her!

Work _still_ made her nervous, though.  She was sure Ella had guessed that she and Lucifer were finally lovers, probably due to the sudden lack of tension between them but that was OK.  Ella was a friend.  What _really_ bothered Chloe was the creepy way that Lt. Pierce looked at them both…

***

“We’re closed.” Lucifer said, without looking up to see who had just walked into Lux.

“Hello, Brother.”

The sound of an unfamiliar voice addressing him that way, instantly got Lucifer’s full attention.

“I don’t know _you_.” He said, looking at the young man, taking in his mouse-brown hair, slightly too prominent ears and green eyes.  “Are you a new one?”

“I am our Mother’s son but not _your_ Father’s.”

“From Mother’s universe.  She wasn’t alone there?” When Lucifer had made the sword cut into reality, his intent had been for an _empty_ place - a fresh start.

“She was, She didn’t like it.  However, when She left here She carried with her the billions of half lives gifted to her by my Father.  She made _me_ first.”

‘ _Half lives_ ,’ Lucifer thought, ‘ _Never heard them called_ **that** _before_.’  He supposed it was an accurate enough term for sperm cells, carrying, as they do, half the required chromosomes to make a new being.

“What did she name you?” Lucifer asked, looking into those familiar green eyes.  ‘ _Lucifer 2.0: Spawn of Douche?’_ He thought, not sure if it was funny or nauseating.

“I am Zoran, Bringer of the Dawn.”

Lucifer clasped Zoran’s right hand in his, deciding it would be best _not_ to annoy the youngster - at least until he knew what he had come here for, what he _wanted_.

“Lucifer. Morningstar.  Pleased to meet you.  How did you come here?” ‘ _and why today, of_ all _days?’_ He added, silently, inside his head.

“The sword that cuts reality is incomplete now but it remembers the place that it once cut.” He opened his dark blue robe to reveal Azrael’s blade.  There was no sign of Johnson’s ‘belt buckle’.

“So you came through the portal.  Why?” Lucifer asked, wondering if he should get the blade away from this child, before the carnage began again.

“I came to meet with my Father.  Mother wishes him to join her.  I am to ask him if he is agreeable.”

“And if he isn’t?”

“Mother will be disappointed.”

“You’re not planning to take him against his will?”

“Mother was very clear on that point.  I am to tell _you_ that She is content with her new home but misses sex.  My Father is her favourite human, it makes sense to ask _him._ ”

“Perfect sense.” Lucifer said, his mind racing.  He didn’t want Chloe involved in this at all; _she_ might be immortal but their unborn child?  He couldn‘t risk it.  “Daniel’s probably at work, now.  Best thing to do will be to wait at his home.  Er, you _do_ know that he doesn’t know what we are?”

“Yes.  I’ll try not to scare him.”

“Would you like me to drive you?” Lucifer asked, hoping Zoran would leave.

“No, I’d rather walk; this world is very different.  Mother said I should try some things while I’m here, er, something called.. coffee… she gave me a list.” He looked at Lucifer, expectantly.

“Of course you should,” Lucifer said, pulling out a wad of cash and pressing it into his new brother’s hand.  “This will help you with that.”

Smiling he waved his brother out of the door, pressing his palms together in prayer as soon as Zoran was out of sight.

‘ _Jace, get down here_ …’ He silently called.

***

“Sit down, Dan, I’ve got something to tell you both.” Chloe began, nervously.

“Is this about Lucifer?” Dan said, while Trixie watched the two of them, wondering if she’d have to put her fingers in her ears.

“Yes.  Lucifer and I have become very close…”

“I _knew_ it.  I _knew_ that the hair wasn’t why you look so good…” _‘..so **happy** , **I** could never make you **that** happy…‘  _ Dan started to go red in the face at _that_ thought and his voice got louder.  “He’s _finally_ used his perverted mind tricks on _you_.  Got you into bed…“

Trixie put her fingers in her ears.

“His mind tricks don‘t work on me, they never have.”  Chloe said, her voice getting louder, too.

“I’m supposed to _believe_ that?  What makes _you_ so special?  _No_ one can resist him.  Not even…”  The last part was a whisper.

“When?”  Chloe asked, wondering what had happened.

“When we were all looking for Malcolm; Lucifer and Amenadiel were hiding in my office and he wanted me to tell him…”  His voice tailed off as he remembered.

“And?”

“He said I was complicated… he… his _eyes_ … his _voice_.. and I… couldn’t resist.  In that moment, I’d have done anything he asked.  He only wanted information and… I… part of me was … disappointed.  Then he said ‘Not that complicated after all.’ and I felt I‘d let him down, somehow…” He finally admitted, gazing at the floor.  “And now you’re… _with_ him.”

 “ _That_ isn’t what I had to tell you; besides, I thought you quite _liked_ him now.”

“ _Not_ in a relationship with the mother of my _child_.  He’s a bad influence on _her_ , he’ll hurt _you_ again, he’ll _never_ be faithful to you, he’s probably got every form of STD known to mankind and some that aren’t…” Dan was shouting, now.

“Dan…”

“He’s _incapable_ of commitment…”

“ **We’re getting _married_**.” Chloe shouted.

“ _Yes!”_ Trixie said, happily, taking her fingers out of her ears.

“You are _not_.” Dan said, “He’s _already_ married, for one thing.  To that _Candy_ airhead.”

Trixie sighed and blocked her ears up again.

“We’re booking the ceremony for when his divorce is finalized.  I haven’t even told my mom, yet: I wanted to tell the two of _you_ first.”

“Two _weeks_ , his marriage to _her_ lasted, what makes you think _your’s_ will last any longer?  He’s unreliable.”

“That was a _business_ arrangement, they didn’t even _sleep_ together.”

“Yeah, right.  Lucifer Morningstar _married_ a woman and _didn’t_ sleep with her.” Dan said, sarcastically,  “The man who fu.. _sleeps_ with anything that has a pulse…”

“He doesn’t lie.” Chloe said, icily.

“…And don’t get me started on the _drugs_.”

“He doesn’t do that any more…” Chloe sighed, glad she wasn’t telling Dan that, in every way that mattered, she and Lucifer were married _already_.

“Where’s the _ring_?  I expect it’ll be something flashy and too heavy to lift.” He asked, disgust dripping from every word.

“He’s giving it to me tonight.” Chloe said, quietly.

“Oh, I’ll just _bet_ he is.  Well don’t expect _me_ to babysit Trixie.”

“I don’t _need_ a sitter, tonight; Trixie’s coming too.”

“Why, so she can listen to the two of you f…”

“Just leave, now, Dan.  I wanted to tell you, myself, so you wouldn’t hear it elsewhere and I’ve done that.  It’s none of your business _who_ I marry.”

“It’s _my_ business who’s in _my_ daughter’s life, though.” Dan said, dangerously.  “I think I might consult a lawyer.”

He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

“Well, that went better than I thought it would.” Maze said, stepping out of her room and brandishing a large knife.

“How long have you been here?” Chloe asked.

“Oh _I’m_ only here to hold Lucifer back,” She said, smiling as Lucifer stepped out from behind her.  “Had to gag him, too.” She held up a soggy leather vest; there were teeth marks...

“Lucifer!” Trixie threw herself at his legs, “Are you really gonna marry mommy?”

“Oh, yes.” He said, picking her up and whispering something in her ear.

“Really?” She asked, her eyes widening at whatever he had told her.

“What did you tell her?” Chloe asked, worrying that Lucifer had told Trixie about the baby.

“Lucifer says that while you’re on your honeymoon, doing naked stuff, I can take Maze to Disneyland.  Isn’t that great?”

“I made no mention of ‘naked stuff’, Beatrice.” Lucifer said, sternly.

“Noo, but that’s what happens on a honeymoon, _every_ body knows _that_.”

“You really _want_ to go to Disneyland?” Chloe asked Maze.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun; luxury hotel, thrill rides, quality time with my favourite small human, someone else picking up the tab… What’s not to like?” She said, effortlessly stashing the knife invisibly in her skimpy clothing.  “I gotta go, enjoy tonight.”

She did the knuckle thing with Trixie and left.  Lucifer had explained the situation with Zoran and Maze was to follow Dan, all night if need be.

***

“So, where are we going?” Chloe asked, as soon as she realized that they weren’t heading to Lux.

“It’s a surprise,” Lucifer said, driving into the hills.

***

“Wow.” Chloe said, gazing out at the view.

“The best view of the sunset in all of L.A.” Lucifer said, proudly.

“Nice infinity pool.” Chloe said, trying to go for nonchalance.

“I’ve owned the place for a few years now but I’ve never _lived_ here; I’ve never brought anyone here for the night…you would be the first…the only…”

“I _know_ you’ve never lived here, Lucifer.”

He looked questioningly at her.

“There’s no piano.” She said, as though it was blindingly obvious.

“I’ll be having one delivered, _if_ you’d like us to live here.”

“What about Lux?”

“I was thinking of only being there at the weekend, we can all stay at the penthouse, then and here for the rest of the week…it’s up to you.”

“Mom, the bedrooms are really cool.” Trixie shouted, running to them.  “They’ve all got bathrooms of their own and so much space to play..”

Lucifer smirked at Chloe.

“Everyone needs space to play,” He said, with no hint of innuendo in his voice but plenty in his eyes.

“Are we gonna live here, Mom?”

“Would you like to?”

“Why don’t you both think about it over dinner?” Lucifer said, “I wouldn’t want you to rush into anything.”

He had set up the dining table by the pool so they could eat and watch the sunset.  After they had finished dessert and watched the sun go down, they went back inside and Lucifer got out two small velvet boxes.  He handed the first to Trixie.

“I’d like you wear this, as a symbol of my protection.” He said, solemnly.

Chloe frowned, not knowing what to expect.

Trixie squealed with delight at the beautiful necklace.  The chain was some kind of white metal and the teardrop shaped stone _had_ to be a diamond.  She looked into its depths.

“Look Mommy,” she said, showing Chloe the tiny white feather that seemed to be trapped inside the stone.  “It’s one of _yours_ , isn’t it?” She turned to Lucifer as she spoke.

Both Chloe and Lucifer’s jaws dropped.

“How did you…?” Lucifer was suddenly lost for words.

“You’re the devil _and_ an angel,” Trixie said, innocently, as though it was obvious, “Sometimes your eyes are red - quite often, at the start; these days though, you have wings most of all.  How’d you get the feather _inside_ the diamond?”

“I built the diamond around it, an atom at a time.” He said, as if it were a simple everyday thing.

“You can _do_ that?” Chloe asked, shocked. “Of _course_ you can do that.” She said, shaking her head. “You can _make_ diamonds.”

“Where do you think my money comes from?”

“I stopped thinking about it a while ago and just started hoping it wasn’t from anything illegal.” She said, with a smile.

“I’ve got a lot of investments but the diamonds were how I started out.  They’re exactly the same as naturally occurring diamonds - better clarity, though, of course.  There’s no fraud involved.  I send them to be cut and polished, get i.d. lasered onto them, crude drawings, usually.  Perfectly legal.  Yours has your name on it, Beatrice.”

“Cool.” She put the necklace on.

“Wear it all the time and I’ll always be able to find you.”

“If I’m lost?”

“Yes, or in trouble..”

“If there’s another Bad Man?” She said this very quietly.

“Hopefully there never will be but..”

“Just in case?”

“Yeah, just in case.”  He turned to Chloe.

“Now yours, my love.”  He handed her the ring box.

“Oh, Lucifer, it’s beautiful.”

It was perfect.  She could hardly tear her eyes from it.  It was an eternity ring, appropriately, with the most magical diamonds that she had ever seen.  They seemed to almost glow with a soft rainbow of light and were very flat against the setting - no danger of them catching on anything the way most diamond rings seemed to - he knew her tastes so well.

“There’s a chain, so you can wear it around your neck when you’re at work.  The diamonds are made out of the ashes of my first wings; I had to cut and polish them myself, so I could be sure that no pieces fell into the wrong hands.”

“The wings that were stolen?  You got them back?  They were _burned_?”

“Yes.  _I_ burned them on the beach, to annoy Amenadiel.  Maze cleared it all away later and kept it safe.  She always seems to know what I need before I do.” He said, with a fond smile.

“Do you think she’d like to be a bridesmaid?”  Chloe asked.

“She can’t, she’s my best-‘man’.”

“You can’t have a _girl_ as a best- _man_ ,” Trixie said, laughing.

“Who says?  She’s my best friend, I believe that that’s the criteria.”

“Yes.  There’s no reason why she _can’t_ do it; she wouldn’t be the _first_ female to do the job.” Chloe said.  “What will she do when Trixie and I move in here with you?” She added, neatly sidestepping any notion that she was turning down this beautiful house.

“I thought she could come too, there’s plenty of space and she can be a live-in babysitter and bodyguard.  We’ll need all the help we can get when…”  His voice tailed off.

“Are you and Lucifer having a _baby_ Mommy?”  Trixie asked, excitedly, looking pointedly at Chloe‘s already rounded abdomen.

“Er…”  Chloe glared at Lucifer.

“Sorry?” He said, sheepishly.

“Cool.  If it’s a girl, can we call her Lucinda?”

***

The beach was crowded but it didn’t matter because time was frozen.  Only one human was free of this demonstration of celestial power and he was looking guiltily at Jace.

“..and you are sure you are doing this freely, Daniel?” Jace asked, looking Dan up and down; flicking his eyes over the luggage that rested on the sand next to where the portal would soon be open.  Even Zoran was frozen, Azrael’s blade in his hand.

“Yes.  Chloe’s starting a new life, _I_ will too.  She and Trixie  never really felt like they were _mine,_ anyhow.”

“You can’t _own_ family, Daniel but you _do_ have to earn them.  You were never _there_ for either of them.”

“Work was _important_ …”

“ _Was_ it?  Chloe has the same job as you.  Did it really burn you so badly that she does it _better_ than you do?  You allowed her to be made an outcast amongst her colleagues: you lied and watched her being ground down by the sickening ‘ _boys’ club’_ that is the police force.  Did you want to see her _break_?  Would that have given you a small measure of satisfaction, proof that she was weaker than you?  Seeing her punished for no crime other than wanting to arrest the _guilty_?”

“I…”

“I believe that arresting the guilty _is_ the crux of your job.”

“Yes… but…”

“Then why would you want to cut corners, ‘open and shut cases’, take the obvious, easy options and allow the guilty to go free?  No, Daniel, I don‘t think that, for you, ‘ _work_ **was** _important_.’ You need a better excuse.”

“ _Who_ even _are_ you?  How have you done _this_..” Dan shouted, gesturing to the beach full of motionless people, “and what gives you the _right_..?”

“It’s a good thing that you won’t still be in _my_ universe when you die, Daniel.  It would have put my brother in a _very_ awkward position; having _you_ in Hell.”

“Your brother?”

“Well, _half_ brother.  Lucifer and I share our father, like your newly found son shares his _mother_ with Lucifer.”  

As he spoke, Jace reached out and took Azrael’s blade from Zoran’s immobile fingers.  He sliced it in the air and the portal opened.

“Enjoy your Goddess, Daniel; you and I will not meet again.”  He gestured with the fingers of his left hand and Dan went still and silent as Zoran became animated.

“Who are _you_?”  He demanded, realizing that Jace had taken the blade.

“I represent the creator of this universe.  You had no right to come here and destroy one of our people.”

“He’s not destroyed, he’s leaving of his own free will.”  Zoran blustered, trying to bluff his way out.

“Not your _father_ , you are welcome to _him_.  I am referring to the woman whose soul you destroyed when you first came here, this morning.  You broke the skin above her heart with the tip of this accursed blade and left her a soulless, empty shell.”

“Mother needs a physical form; it made sense to use the one that Father is used to.  The woman’s soul was filthy and she feared Hell; now she will never go there.”

“You believed you were being merciful?  I have my doubts but I _will_ allow you to leave.  Take your father, take his _valuable_ luggage and go.  The sword stays here.  I will not have you coming back.”

Zoran nodded and started to throw Dan’s stuff through to the other universe.  Lastly, he picked up his father and stepped through.  Jace waved his hand, the portal closed and the world came back to life around him.

***

It was more than a week before Chloe realized that Dan was gone.  She and Trixie had moved into Lucifer’s beautiful house; Maze was spreading out again, in her own suite of rooms and was more than happy to babysit when she wasn’t bounty-hunting.  The only problem, for Chloe, was the low key worry of what Dan might try to do.  Would he try to take custody of Trixie?  Should she expect a letter from his lawyer?  The silence was unnerving.

Then Dan’s parents got in touch.  He hadn’t called when he usually did and they were concerned.

Lucifer went with her when she went to Dan’s place.  She used her spare key to get in.

There were no signs of struggle or burglary but there was obviously stuff missing: clothes, DVDs, his surfboard…

When it was realized that Charlotte Richards was also gone, along with a massive amount of cash from evidence, the general assumption was that they had left together.  As Lt. Pierce said - after Internal Affairs had taken all the CCTV footage in an attempt to work out how several van loads of drug money had disappeared without anyone noticing - ‘No one will miss a dirty cop and a defense lawyer who keeps the worst scum _out_ of jail.’ 

It was an open and shut case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. The Sinnerman

Lucifer was angry.  He’d been angry for most of the day.  Having found out that _Jace_ had given him back his wings and he him _self_ had taken his devil face away, he had all but forgotten about the Sinnerman.  Today that had changed.  Today that, so called, urban myth had put himself firmly back on the Devil’s radar by murdering two of the people that Lucifer had done favours for.  That was bad but, far worse, he had staged the scenes to personally taunt the ex-ruler of Hell.

Playing with fire did not even _begin_ to cover it.

Now, after following trails, receiving sarcastic phone calls and a conversation with an antique TV; Lucifer was trapped. 

As soon as the clown in the unfortunate knitwear had cut their connection, Lucifer had destroyed the camera - you never knew _who_ might be watching - and unfurled his wings.  A quick dimension flight and he would be free to _hunt_ the miscreant. 

He reappeared back inside the room.  He tried again, same result.  This could _not_ be happening.  He checked his phone - no signal - _useless_.  Gritting his teeth, he tried reaching out to Jace.  He didn’t _want_ to; he was resentful that his half-brother wouldn’t tell him what had happened with Dan and Charlotte - plausible deniability be _damned_ \- he wanted to _know_.  All _Maze_ could tell him was that she followed Dan and Zoran to the beach and then Jace stopped time - for _her_ as well as for everyone else.  _How_ was Charlotte involved?  _Why_ had Jace stolen the money from the ‘Tilson’ drug bust - misdirection?  It burned that he was having to ask him for help.

It didn’t matter.  His ‘prayer’ hung heavy on the air of the room; no part of his spiritual self was getting out.  What had the Sinnerman said, ‘..that’s a foot of reinforced steel..’  Reinforced with _what_ , exactly?

He found himself replaying their conversation in his head, his rage building.  ‘..I’ve got work to do, now that you’re all checked in..’  He had said.  _What_ work?  _Why_ had he wanted Lucifer out of the way? 

Not _Chloe_.

_Please_ not Chloe.

Lucifer lost it.

 

***

 

Chloe’s head hurt.  Terrible, throbbing pain which was worse at the _back_ of her skull but which still managed to fill the available space, all the way to the front.

It was dark.

She opened her eyes.

It was still dark.  She realized that there was cloth over her head and tape over her mouth.  Something tight across her ribs meant that she was tied to whatever she was sitting on.  Her hands were in her lap and her chin was on her chest.  She stayed still - her head was too heavy to lift, anyway.

She could hear voices - muffled, nonsensical, like the voices of grownups in the Snoopy cartoons.  She tried to focus on what they were saying.

“…on’t give me a hard time, it was an accident; the bitch _bit_ me.”  The voice was strangely _measured_ and dark, as if the man had _practiced_ sounding menacing.  She didn’t recognize it.

“I didn’t want her _harmed_ , you were supposed to use the chloroform; there’s too much _blood_.”  _This_ voice, she knew.  It evoked feelings of nervousness and inadequacy but didn’t conjure up his _face_ or a name.

“She’s still _breathing_.” The first, unknown, voice said; as though the second voice should be grateful that Chloe wasn’t dead.  “You don’t usually _want_ them alive.  She struggled, like that other bitch, the one who _scratched_ me.  This one _bit_ me, I pushed her, she hit her head.  It couldn’t be helped, it was just a _reflex_.”

Gunshots sound very loud in small spaces and Chloe’s head seemed to reverberate with the sound - did she hear a body hit the floor?

“Just a reflex.  Couldn’t be helped.”  The owner of the second voice sneered.  There was a second shot, no less painful to Chloe, then it was quiet.

“I’m sorry, Decker,” The voice said, close to her ear; she flinched.  “Good, you’re awake.  I didn’t want you _hurt_ , I just need you to give _me_ what you’ve given Lucifer.”

He took hold of her hands - she now realized they were cuffed - and pushed something between her palms, carefully moving her fingers until she was ready to fire the gun - _why is he giving me a gun_?… forcing her trigger finger while she struggled… forcing..

This shot was quieter, as though the gun was pressed against something soft.  This time she definitely heard a body hit the floor.  The gun fell from her lax fingers.

Silence.

***

Maze was halfway across the state when Lucifer ceased to exist.

“ _What the **fuck**_?”  She swore, hitting her brakes so hard that she nearly went through the floor of her car.  One very illegal U-turn later and she was heading back to L.A.

‘ _What could **possibly** have happened_?’ She asked herself, concentrating on the empty space that now occupied the place in her head that was sort of labelled _Lucifer_.  Normally, she could feel him - his moods - his physical state - his global position - he had released her from her vow of servitude but she would _always_ be there for him and, by extension, for Chloe, Trixie and, when she at last opened her eyes on the world, Lucinda.

The week had been planned; school was out for a few days so Maze had picked Trixie up and dropped her and a bulging overnight bag, off at her sticky little friend’s house for a two night sleepover.  Maze had then set out across country to track down ‘bounty du jour’; not that she needed the money but she did need the _fun_.  Lucifer and Chloe had still been at work but had been looking forward to a couple of days of nauseating togetherness…

Now _this_.  Maze swore on the boiling, flaming pits of Hell and Damnation that if Lucifer was _truly_ gone, she would have her bloody revenge on anyone who had so much as _looked_ at him wrong.

Hours later and Maze was close enough to the city to feel the tiny scrap of Not-Lucifer that was Lucinda.  She breathed a sigh of relief.  If Lucinda was alive then Chloe was and if _she_ was then Lucifer was. 

It was challenging for Maze to track someone who, technically, didn’t exist but once she had found his car…

It was easy to figure out which ‘abandoned’ building he was in - only one of them seemed to still have power - lighting of some kind, anyhow.  She caught his scent where he had broken the chain on the gate.

“Lucifer, you in here?”  She called out to him, fairly certain that he was.  The building was unnaturally hot and she could smell brimstone.  She breathed deep, savouring the aroma of home.

“Mazikeen.”  He growled her name and she opened the door.

Smoke and relentless heat billowed out and in the middle of it the Lord of Hell strode through the open doorway.  His skin red and shiny with scar tissue, his clothes mostly burnt away, his wings filthy with soot.  Maze sank to her knees.

“My Lord.”

He nodded to her, flapped his wings and vanished.

Maze peered through the smoke into the room.  It was a Dali-esque nightmare of melted chains dripping from the ceiling, a surreal puddle on the floor which seemed to be all that remained of Lucifer’s phone and what could once have been a CRT television.  The inside of the door had been clawed and beaten as if some immeasurable beast had been frantic to escape.

One had.

Maze went to her car, still smirking at how much more _fun_ Lucifer was, now that he and his half-brother had sorted out their ‘family issues‘.  He was, once more, her worthy Lord. 

She searched deep inside herself for the small hint of Lucinda and started to track; knowing that that would be where _He_ would head next.

***

Lucifer appeared, hastily re-clothed, in the parking lot of ‘The Smoke House’ and into, what seemed to be, LAPD central.  No one saw him arrive and he strode purposefully toward the main building, knowing that Chloe was somewhere in the middle of this shit-fest.

It was a huge crime scene.  One of the waiters - on a bathroom break - had heard the gunfire and called 911.  They had found him - alive - still cowering in the restroom.

It was late and there had been no actual customers left in the place, just staff and Frankie Ferrante and his associates; now all dead.  The only other survivor was Chloe, who was, even now, being wheeled out on a stretcher.

Lucifer was by Chloe’s side just as Maze stepped out of her car and joined them.

“I’m her partner.” Lucifer told the paramedic.

“Partner as in?”

“In _every_ way.” Lucifer snarled, bending down to Chloe.  “Who did this?”  He asked, gently.

“Pierce,” She breathed into his ear.

The paramedic didn’t hear her but Lucifer and Maze both did.  Maze raised an eyebrow at Lucifer and he flashed his red eyes to her in response.  Maze got back into her car.

“You can ride with her to the hospital,”  The paramedic was telling Lucifer.  “We need to know if she has any medical conditions..”

“She’s pregnant.” Lucifer told him.

***

The nature of Frankie’s business meant that CCTV cameras were unwelcome in the _public_ areas of the building but the kitchen and store rooms were a different matter.  All camera footage streamed directly on to the computer in Frankie’s office and it was here that Ella Lopez watched with growing horror…

She saw the panic and the carnage as the gunman opened fire on the kitchen staff and then left the room.  She fast-forwarded to the point where the man (Sinnerman?) returned, dragging a struggling Chloe.  She watched as Chloe put up a fight, then winced in sympathy as Chloe’s head struck the door frame and she crumpled to the floor.  The man dragged Chloe’s limp body into a store room and Ella had to change to a different camera’s footage.

Her jacket pulled off in the struggle, blood could clearly be seen staining the back of Chloe’s white shirt.  Ella murmured a quick prayer that her friend would come out of this OK.  On screen, the man was tying Chloe to a chair and being helped by a second man, who finished by retrieving Chloe’s jacket from the floor and putting it over her head as a makeshift hood, securing it with the sleeves.

Next, he seemed to be arguing with the first man and then he pulled a gun and shot the man dead.  Ella went cold and her hair stood up on the back of her neck as the man looked up at the security camera and she had a perfect shot of his face, right before he pulled the trigger again and the camera went dark.

Lt. Marcus Pierce.

Ella felt sick.  There was no way to misinterpret what she had just seen.  Pierce was officially dirty.

***

Lucifer drove Maze’s car from the hospital, not to Lux, where Maze had left his package but to the house, where he parked the car.  They had had a very public conversation, he and Maze, while the armed guard that had been provided for Chloe by the LAPD, pretended that he wasn’t listening.  Maze had taken in Lucifer’s exhausted appearance and suggested that, since Chloe was sleeping off her rapidly healing skull fracture, _he_ should maybe go home, shower and pick her up some clothes for when she was discharged in the morning.  Naturally Maze would stay with Chloe while he was gone.

Once home he swiftly relocated himself to the basement of Lux.  He knew that he was possibly being watched, now that Lt. Pierce’s treachery was common knowledge and he had no wish to lead anyone here.  If someone _was_ watching him, they could now swear that he was miles away from Lux, in his ‘family’ home.

Beneath Lux there were many secret passages and rooms and in one of these rooms Maze had left him a ‘package’.  Chained to the wall, using chains and manacles of metal forged in Hell, in one of Maze’s more _extreme_ playrooms, was Lt. Pierce.

“You’re going to tell me what you were doing with my wife.” Lucifer said, before Pierce had time to react.

“Your _wife_?  Goody two shoes Decker and the _actual_ Devil?  Does she _know_?”

“That’s _not_ how we’re playing this.  You will tell me why you had her tied up and why you forced her to shoot someone.”

“I had her shoot _me_.  I hoped that she could make me mortal, the way she makes you.”

“You’re immortal?”

“I heard that she made _you_ bleed, so I transferred here.  I arranged to get shot while I was beside her but _that_ didn’t work; so I thought maybe if _she_ shot me her _self_ …”

“And _that’s_ why she’s in hospital with a fractured skull?” Lucifer’s voice was low and dangerous.  Having spoken to the doctor, he knew that, if not for what _he_ had done to Chloe - tying her life and soul to his - she would be dead now.  “And _now_ you tell me you set her up to get shot at on that stupid ‘rehab’ ranch.  She could have been _killed_.”

“It was a calculated risk.”  Pierce said, shrugging.  His chains clinked.

“So you decided it was acceptable to risk _her_ life just so _you_ could go to Hell, _Cain_.”

“How do you know who I am?”

“The first murderer: ‘marked by God, doomed to walk the earth alone for a tortured eternity‘, you _have_ the mark - even if you try to hide it - and you call yourself The Sinnerman.  You’re making it fairly obvious.”

“I’m not _going_ to Hell, I feel no guilt for what I did to Abel; it was only a matter of time before _he_ killed _me_ , I just got in first.”

“It doesn’t work that way.  Firstly, there’s a very large section of Hell, _just_ for people who feel no guilt over the evil things they have done.  Secondly, you’re The Sinnerman - criminal mastermind - in what scenario could you _possibly_ see yourself going to Heaven?”

“I’ve helped _solve_ crimes, too.  That’s got to count…”

“Let me guess, you’ve helped catch criminals that are nothing to do with your organization?”

Cain nodded.

“You protect dirty cops who pay you a percentage of their profits?”

“If I have to be alive, I like a certain lifestyle, yes.”

“Dirty cops who _don’t_ pay up, get used as scapegoats for the crimes of others?”

“Sometimes…”  Cain’s voice choked off, abruptly, as one of Maze’s Hell forged daggers hit him deep in his heart.

“I’ll be seeing you in Hell, then.”  Lucifer said, walking up to Cain as he slid, weakly down the wall as far as the chains would let him.

Lucifer pulled the dagger out, giving it a good twist, first.  Cain coughed, blood spilling from his mouth.

“Was that meant to kill me?”  He spluttered, wetly.  “If it was _that_ easy, I’d have just come and _asked_ you.”

“And I _might_ have agreed to help you… but, clearly, Dear Old Dad meant for you to stay on Earth.  Oh well,” He said, with a casual air, “I can’t hang around here all night, talking to _you_ … I’ve got places to be, things to do.  You just wait around here, I’ll get back to you.  Sometime.”  He locked the door behind him.

***

Ella sighed, as the man from ‘Internal Affairs’ carried in yet another box of carefully bagged rocks.  Who would have thought of Pierce as the kind of man who collected rocks?  Most of them had some kind of beauty but some were just dull, boring rocks.  Not so boring when you realize that they had blood stains.

Ella was taking this personally.  She had so _admired_ Pierce from afar, had been _so_ excited to finally work with him, that having to forensically analyze his creepy ‘serial killer’ souvenir rock collection, felt like he was just rubbing her nose in it.

“Why are you even trusting me to do this?”  She asked, squinting the man’s I.D. dangling around his neck, “Er.. Bains?”

“Two reasons,”  He said, gruffly,  “One, you are the best in the state at what you do.  Two, Pierce had a file on you which says you’re clean.”

Ella sat down, heavily.

“He had a file, on _me_?” she said, incredulously.

“On _everyone_ that works here.  Filed as ‘Clean’, ‘Dirty’ and ‘Maybe’; colour coded, no less.  He researched you _all_ before he transferred.  The assessment in his file on _you_ states that: ‘Despite a dubious past, your professional integrity makes it unlikely that you are corruptible but that your brothers can be used as leverage in an emergency’.”

Ella felt the hot burn of angry tears threatening behind her eyelids and blinked them back.

“I’m glad it never came to _that_.” she muttered.  “What are the ‘Maybe’ files?”

“Cops that are very minor players, usually independent, who can _maybe_ be framed for crimes committed by ‘ _His_ ’ people.  They usually die in prison.  There‘s been a lot of ‘killed in a prison brawl‘ verdicts over the years.  He had Espinoza earmarked for that.”

“Poor Dan.”

“Yeah.  ‘ _Poor Dan’_ ran off with that lawyer and a truckload of cash.”  He laughed, “Pierce was _really_ pissed about it, he had plans for all that lovely drug money.”

“He just wrote all this stuff down?”

“Beyond belief, isn’t it?  All hard copy, nothing on computer; the only way you’d find it, is if you broke into his house.  Files aren’t the _usual_ burglar’s priority.”

“What _about_ his house?  It looks expensive,” She said, looking at the photos, “Didn’t _that_ set alarm bells ringing?  You checked us _all_ out, when Dan went missing.”

“Records say he _inherited_ it but we’ll be looking into _that_ a bit more carefully, this time.”

“You know what I don’t get?”  Ella said, looking at the interior photos of Pierce’s house, “He’s obviously a neat freak, he has files on every _thing_ and every _one…_ so why…”

“…move here and risk Decker and Morningstar doing to _him_ what they did to Lt. Herrera?”  Bains shook his head in disbelief,   “He actually states that Decker is ‘Selflessly honest and completely incorruptible’ in her file, although he also says that her daughter can be used against her.”

“What’s he say about Lucifer?”

“That one’s interesting; he wrote _that_ file as though he actually believed that Morningstar **_is_** the Devil.”

“Yeah,”  Ella laughed, “He never breaks character; _oh_ , except for one time when he pretended to be Dan.” 

“Identity fraud?“

“Noo, I think he was just trying to annoy him.  He wore similar clothes, did his hair the same way, copied the way he walked - that sort of thing.“

“So, method actor sorta stuff.  Thing is, in the file there‘s a load about immortality and Pierce writes that Decker makes Morningstar vulnerable.”

“Well they’re getting married next month, so I guess _that’s_ true.”

“I wonder what Pierce was trying to _achieve_ , last night?  Drawing attention to the whole Sinnerman thing,” He smiled, “Poking the Devil with a stick and whatever he was doing to Decker after he shot out the camera.”

“He had this huge crime empire.  What could possibly be worth losing it all?”  Ella agreed.

“I guess we’ll have to ask him when we catch him.”

 

 

 


	6. The Wedding

24 Hrs before

Chloe bit her tongue and clenched her fingers tightly.  She counted to ten, in her head.  No, it _still_ wasn’t helping.

“But _why_?” Penelope Decker asked, yet again.  “I don’t understand.  Lucifer’s richer than God…”  Chloe flinched at the G-word.  “..Why would he want to get married on a _beach_?  It isn‘t even somewhere exotic, it‘s in _L.A._ You may as well get married in his _nightclub_.”

‘ _Close, Mother,_ ’ Chloe thought, ‘ _upstairs, in his penthouse, just after our daughter was conceived...’_

“That beach holds a lot of significance for us both,” She said aloud, surprised at how calm she was sounding - not a bit as if she was about to commit matricide.  “It was where we kissed for the first time.”  ‘ _Where Lucifer first arrived, where he had Maze amputate his wings, where he burned them…’_   She glanced down at her beautiful ring, all that remained of the unfortunate wings.

“Aww, that’s so _sweet_ ,” Her mother said, “but it’s going to mess up our _shoes_.  All that sand…”

“ _I’m_ not going to be _wearing_ shoes, but if you _like_ I’ll see if Lucifer can _pay_ to have the beach _carpeted_ for you.”  Chloe said, sarcastically.  This went straight over Penelope’s head and she smiled.

“That would be very kind of him.”

“What would?” Lucifer asked, coming through the door, with a garment bag over one arm.

“Mom would like you to carpet the beach, so she doesn’t mess up her shoes.”

“Anything for you, Penelope, darling.  The _whole_ beach or just the part we’re using for the wedding?” Lucifer asked, smirking.

Chloe bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud but Trixie, who had come in with Lucifer, started to giggle.

“Just the bit we’ll be walking on, will be fine.” Penelope said, narrowing her eyes as she started to get the idea that she was being mocked.

Lucifer was already on the phone.

“Come and see my dress, Nanna,”  Trixie said, pulling Penelope towards her room.

“There,” Lucifer said, “All done.  He owed me a favour, anyway…”

“Poor man, having to do it for free.”

“Oh, I’m still _paying_ him, the favour is getting it done by tomorrow.”

“Have I told you recently, how much I love you?” Chloe asked.

“Mmm, this morning, I think.  When I had my tongue in your…”

“Lucifer!” Chloe blushed and put her hand over his mouth, “My mother and Trixie might hear.”

“Just answering your ill-advised question…”

“Well don’t.” She lowered her voice, “I already want to strangle my _mom_ , I don’t want to have to add _you_ to the list.”

“That bad?” He wrapped his arms around her, “Try not to stress, not long now and we’ll be on our honeymoon.”

“It’s just… it’s like she doesn’t realize that I’m not the same as her.  It’s all; ‘ _Who’s your plastic surgeon, Sweetie?’_ and ‘ _Did **Lucifer** pay to have that done?  Must have been **expensive** , you look **years** younger.  I seem to remember **someone** telling **me** off when I had that tummy tuck, that time…’_   Oh, and my personal favourite; ‘ _Now that you’re marrying a billionaire, why in the world would you want to keep on being a cop?’_ She just doesn’t get that it’s not about the money, it’s about doing good and helping people.. and…”

“Making sure the guilty get punished.” Lucifer finished for her, wrapping his arms around her.

“It’s because I’m taking all this leave, from work.”

“It was _your_ idea.  You’ve got a lot of leave banked, _they_ agreed that you shouldn’t go back until after Lucinda’s born - after all, you single-handedly uncovered the biggest criminal organization that this country has ever seen - you deserve a _medal_ as well as a break.”

“Mmm, shame I don’t remember much about it.  I’ve seen the footage of the struggle but it didn’t help with the memories.  Also, they never caught _Pierce_.  You don’t think he’d come back, try to hurt us?”

“No.” Lucifer said, choosing his words carefully,  “I think that Pierce is now doomed to stay underground for the rest of his life.”

“You’re probably right, with all the face recognition software and camera access that the authorities have, if he ever shows his face in public again, they’ll throw away the key.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Penelope asked, coming back in.  “Now, I’ve seen _Trixie’s_ dress, when am I going to see yours, Sweetie?”

“Tomorrow, at the beach.” Chloe said, firmly.

***

1 Hr. before

“Amenadiel.”

The voice came from behind him and Amenadiel turned round in shock.

“J…”

“ _Jace_.  For today.”

“What?  You _want_ to be called by Luci’s stupid nickname for you?”

“Yes.  It’s what he calls me and I happen to know that _Luce_ hates to be called ‘Luci’, almost as much as he hates the ‘goat thing’.”  Jace raised an eyebrow, suggestively at Amenadiel.

“You know about that, huh?”

“Father knows, why wouldn‘t I?”

“So, why are you here?”  Amenadiel asked, eyeing his half-brother’s unbleached linen suit and neatly tied back hair.  “You already married them, right?”

“I did but this day is for their friends and family, oh and the California legal stuff - their marriage will be official after today.”

“Are you representing Father?  Does he _approve_?”

“Chloe is his miracle, what do _you_ think?”

“Lucifer fought so hard against it… Now, with the child coming…”

“You know how Father loves his plot twists.”

“Mmm.  Will you be at the party, later?”

“Of course, I’m looking forward to meeting Lucifer’s other friends.”

“Uh-oh, who invited _her_?”  Amenadiel asked, looking over his half-brother’s shoulder.

Jace turned and they both looked at the beautiful blonde woman who was settling into one of the seats, which had been set up on the beach.

True to his word, Lucifer had arranged for carpet, the exact colour of the sand, to be laid on the beach.  He wanted Chloe relaxed and happy and the less her mum had to gripe about, the better.

Maze sauntered up behind Amenadiel and Jace.  She was in her ‘best man’  outfit, which consisted of a black leather tux and killer heels.

“Is she _meant_ to be here?” Maze asked, looking to where the ex-Mrs Morningstar was sitting, perilously close to where Chloe’s mom was going to be.

The unlikely trio watched as Ella Lopez greeted Candy as though they were old friends.

“Maybe she’s Lopez’s plus one,” Maze speculated, just as a bookish looking man sat down beside Ella and blew that theory.

“She’s not here to make trouble.” Jace said, confidently, his eyes half closed.

“How can you possibly know that, Brother?” Amenadiel asked.

“She’s nervous but Chloe invited her, so it will be alright.” Jace continued, ignoring Amenadiel’s question.

“Decker invited Lucifer’s ex-wife to _their_ wedding?  That’s nuts.” Maze said.

“She has her reasons and, for the record, Candace was never his wife.  Saying the words in a wooden shack covered in fairy lights, to an Elvis impersonator, does _not_ count.  Not without some form of consummation, anyway.” Jace said.

“ _Legally_ recognized, though; he had to get a divorce.” Maze sneered, _still_ not quite believing that Lucifer _hadn’t_ taken Candy to bed.

“Legally, not spiritually.” Jace said, with an air of finality, as if that was all that counted.

Lucifer walked up behind them.

“What’s got everyone’s attention?  Oh bloody hell, what’s _she_ doing here?”

“Decker didn’t tell you?” Maze smirked, enjoying how flustered Lucifer was.

“ _Chloe_ invited her?  No, she didn’t say _any_ thing.”

“She must want to keep you off balance.” Amenadiel said, with a smile.

“It’s our _wedding_ day, keeping me off balance is just… redundant.”

***

Chloe and Lucifer stood facing each other, their hands clasped.  Jace had his hands over theirs, as they spoke the vows they had written themselves.

Chloe:  “We are one…”

Lucifer:  “No longer alone…” his voice breaking slightly on the word ‘alone’.

Chloe:  “We are together…”

Lucifer:  “For whatever may come…”

Both of them simultaneously:  “For the good times, for the bad times, for always.”

“These two stand before you all, joined in the eyes of God.” Jace said, solemnly, his voice directed to the guests.  “I believe it’s customary for you to kiss her, now, Luce.” He said, with a smile.

Lucifer thought that Chloe had never looked so radiant.  Her dress, a slinkily fluid lace, which skimmed her body and made the most of her exciting new curves, had an iridescence woven into it, which caught the light and threw off tiny rainbow shimmers.

He leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, barely trusting himself not to take it further.

“I love you,” he murmured.

“I Love you too,” She said, “ _So_ much.”

“Beautiful dress.”

“Mmm, it reminded me of the way your wings look in the light.  Plus, Trixie loves it.”

“Bring it on the honeymoon, I’d like to..”

“Break it up, you two, it’s party time.”  Maze said, smiling at the pleasure of taking her best-man duties _way_ too seriously.

***

“I’m so glad you could make it.” Chloe said, pulling the ex-Mrs Morningstar into her arms for a hug.

“Wouldn’t have missed it.  You didn’t tell anyone you’d invited me, did you?”

“What tipped you off?” Chloe asked, with a smile.

“Oh, just the way everyone who _knew_ who I was, looked like they were waiting for me to get up and shout ‘it should have been me.’ or something equally inane.  How come Lucifer didn’t know?”

“It’s meant to be every man’s nightmare - the wife and the ex - I thought not telling him would be good payback for all the surprises _he’s_ pulled.  I only found out that it was all a business thing, with you, by accident.  All the chats and emails we’ve had, since then, have put a lot into perspective, for me.  I like to think we’re friends, now.”

“Oh, of _course_ ; in fact, I was wondering…”

“Yeah?”

“Could you introduce me to Lucifer’s hot best-man?”

“Well, she did say your ass was awesome.”

“Ooh, anything else?”

“That your IQ was the same as your bra size.” Chloe said, with a knowing smirk.

“Proves my acting skills.  Does _she_ like surprises?”

“Well, I wouldn’t sneak up behind her if I were you but I think finding out that your hot body has a brain, will be the kind of thing she’ll enjoy…”

***

Ella sat down at the bar next to Jace, he looked up, noticing her choice of jewellery.

“Hi, I’m Ella.”  She said, with her usual enthusiasm.  “You’re another of Lucifer’s brothers, right?”

“Jace.”  He held out his hand and she ignored it and hugged him.

“Any Bro of Lucifer’s is a Bro of mine.”

“Thank you, that means a lot.  You’re a believer.” He said, gesturing to her necklace.

“Yeah.  Lucifer never said that he had an ordained brother and I never expected _him_ to have a religious wedding.”

“He has his spiritual side; he wanted _this_ wedding, in front of family and friends, to _mean_ something, more than just legal.”

“As opposed to his previous, Vegas wedding.”

“Huh?  Oh _no_ , that didn’t count at all.”  Jace looked sad for an instant and Ella felt the urge to hug him again.  “He was _so_ lost… finding answers in the desert, kind of a family trait.”  He smiled, knowingly at her and for an instant she…

The sound of a man clearing his throat, caused Ella to turn round, breaking the moment - losing it forever.

“Oh, this is Harris Bains.” She said, to Jace,  “Harris, this is Lucifer’s brother, Jace… er.. Morningstar?”

“No, just Jace.” He said with a smile.

“Like Madonna?” Ella asked.

“Yeah,” He said, with a surprised grin, “Like Madonna.”  He looked hard at Ella and her ‘plus one’ Harris Bains from Internal Affairs.  “If you two ever need a marriage performed, let Lucifer know.  He’ll call me.  I’d be honoured.”

“It’s only our second date,” Ella said, blushing.

“Yeah but you speak the same language, don’t you?”  He said, with a wink.

Ella’s jaw dropped in shock.

***

Chloe and Lucifer watched as Ella metaphorically picked her jaw up from the floor and started to talk to her date.  Jace wandered away across the dance floor.

“Ella’s date, is that the I.A. guy?” Chloe asked.

“I believe so, yes.”  Lucifer replied, distantly as he tried to follow Ella’s conversation.

“What language are they speaking?”

“I don’t know but I can speak it too.” Lucifer sounded puzzled.

“It’s Klingon.”  Jace said, sitting down next to Lucifer.

“That’s a made up one, I couldn’t understand it when we watched that Star Trek movie a few months back, how come I can speak it, now?”

“Because a Trekker couple are raising their child with Klingon as his first language.  On the off chance that that child ends up in Hell one day, _you_ have to be able to speak to him in his first language.”

“I’m not there anymore…”

“Doesn’t matter.  You are the Lord of Hell, _you_ get the language skills.”

“How do _you_ know this stuff and I don’t?” Lucifer asked in a tone of mock resentment.

“Because _I_ studied and _you_ just accepted your gifts as part of you.”

“So, I speak Klingon, now; what’s next?  Elvish?  Esperanto?”

“Be serious, no one has Esperanto as a first language.”  Jace said, with a very Lucifer like smirk.

“You two look so alike, sometimes.”  Penelope Decker said, as she delivered Trixie to Chloe’s care.  Chloe took her to the elevator.

“He _wishes_ he was as pretty as me.”  Lucifer said, mockingly.

“Night and day.” Jace said, laughing.  He looked Penelope in the eyes.

“I’d like to have been able to understand her.”  She said, to his unspoken question.

Lucifer watched in fascination at this display of his half-brother’s power.

“You just need to understand that she’s a different person.  With different values.” Jace said.

“She won’t tell me who her plastic surgeon is; that’s just mean.”

“She hasn’t _had_ any surgery done and neither should you.  Look after what you _have_ , don’t tamper with it.  You don’t want to end up looking like Jackie Stallone.”  He said, softly.

“I have to go.” She said, as if the conversation hadn‘t happened.  “I’m spending the night upstairs in the penthouse with Trixie.  Looks like Maze got lucky.”

Lucifer looked across to where Maze and Candy were kissing.

“Bloody hell.  How did _that_ happen?”

“So long as she’s fit to take Beatrice to Disneyland tomorrow, where’s the harm?”

“All those powerful women, getting together, talking about me, comparing notes…”

“Yeah, you are, obviously, _all_ they can think about.” Jace said, with a heavy dose of irony.    “Anyhow, _Chloe’s_ to blame; she invited Candace and didn’t tell you, partly because you wouldn’t tell her where you’re going for your honeymoon.  You know she hates surprises.”

“The Brando.”  Lucifer said, quietly.

“Ooh, good choice.  Marlon owe you a favour?”

“He did, yes.”

“And him being dead isn’t a problem?  You still hold him to it?”

“No, _I_ told him not to worry, _he_ insisted.  When he was close to the end he signed a document, in front of _witnesses_ , no less, giving me an all expenses paid honeymoon, to be taken at a time of my choosing.  Never thought I’d _use_ it, not for my _self_.  He thought that if he died owing me, he’d burn in Hell.”

“They always think that.”

“Mmm.  It doesn‘t stop them taking the deals, though.”

“Enjoy yourself, Luce.”

“I plan to.  It’s going to be jeans, T-shirts, bare feet, acoustic guitar and beach camp fires.  Serious relaxation for us both.”

“You still _have_ your ‘Woodstock’ clothes?“

“Of _course_ , haven’t _you_?  You were the _perfect_ hippy, Brother.“

“And you did _way_ too many drugs.”

“Wasn’t the music just…”  Lucifer went misty eyed, remembering.

“Unforgettable.  Well, your honeymoon plans sound perfect.  Have you arranged for someone to feed your pet?”

“Nope.”  Lucifer said, popping the ’P’.  “It’s not like he can starve to death, is it?”

“I can look in on him, if you like?  Or, I can even find a more permanent solution.”

“If you want; I’d much rather he _wasn’t_ sharing the planet with people that I care about.“

“I’ll sort it, I have something in mind.  I owe you a long talk, as well, which you can have when you get back.  I’m pretty sure that Internal Affairs won’t be asking you any more awkward questions.  Can’t have you telling them the truth, _can_ we.”

They both laughed and hugged.  Lucifer went up to the penthouse to get ready to leave and Jace went to find Amenadiel.

***

Amenadiel and Linda were in a booth together, looking very cosy.

“So sorry to interrupt but I really do need a word with you two.”

Linda blushed and Amenadiel looked as if he would have liked to.

“I don’t think you’ve been formally introduced to my half-brother.” He said, sounding flustered.

“ _Jace_ is fine,” She said, nervously. “There is such a thing as _too_ much information.”

“And such a thing as not enough.” Jace countered.  “You’re a therapist, you should know that when she finds out, the deception will hurt her more than what the two of you are doing.”

“We haven’t deceived…”

“No.  As yet she _doesn’t_ suspect but she will.  She has feelings for you both that she isn’t used to having and her default setting is rage.  You need to tell her, before either someone else does or she works it out for herself.”

“You’re right, of course.” Linda said, suitably chastened and wondering how best to broach the subject with Maze.

“You’re good enough at your job to know that but sometimes when it’s too close…” He shrugged.  “Thank you for all the help that you give Lucifer.”  He turned to leave.

“Brother, wait.” Amenadiel stood up.  “I need to ask, do you know what I have to do to earn Father’s forgiveness?”

“That would be between you and Father, he would never share something so personal with a third party.” Jace said, carefully.

“He gave _Lucifer_ back his wings, even though _he_ went back on his deal to return Mom to Hell.”

“ _That_ was never the deal.  How would Lucifer have got your Mother back to Hell when neither of you had your wings?”

“Father sent Uriel.. Didn’t he?”

“Uriel stole Azrael’s blade with the intention of destroying your Mother _and_ he threatened Father’s miracle.  Father did _not_ command him to do either of those things.  Father has not _commanded_ him in more decades than I care to remember.”

“Lucifer was _justified_ in what he did?”

“He did the only thing he could and he suffered greatly for it.”

“I abandoned him.” Linda said, her voice full of remorse.

“You were afraid.  It was perfectly natural.  Chloe stepped in and began his healing process.  You have _nothing_ to be guilty about.”  He looked into Linda’s eyes, as he said this and she realized that he wasn’t just talking about Lucifer.  She felt a weight she had hardly realized she was carrying - it had been there for so long - lift from her heart.  Tears stung her eyes.

“Lucifer’s solution to the problem of your Mother, was inventive and to be commended.”  Jace said, to Amenadiel.  “Now, the happy couple are about to leave for the airport, let’s go see them off.”

 

 


	7. Three Days of Peace and Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer flashes back to the past...

 

“ _I_ put that star there.” He said, squinting up at the sun.

“What star?” The nameless girl asked, puzzled, “It’s daytime.”

She put the joint between his lips and he pulled the fragrant smoke deep into his lungs.  His head was in her lap and he had a very good view of both the sun _and_ her firm breasts.

“ _That_ star, are you blind?” he slurred.

“No but _you_ will be, if you don’t stop staring at the sun.”

For some unfathomable reason, this idea struck him as being incredibly funny and he started to laugh.  He was still giggling when a shadow came between him and Earth‘s closest star.

“Luce, I might have known you’d be here.  Three days of music.”

“Jacey, Jacey, _Jacey_.  My _favourite_ brother.”  Lucifer sat up and turned to the girl. “This is my baby brother.  He’s _really_ famous.”

“What’s he famous for?” The girl asked, squinting at Jace.

Lucifer looked his brother over, taking in his long dark hair, plaited with flowers, his cheesecloth shirt and his faded cut-off jeans.

“My brother,” his voice lowered as if he was telling a huge secret, “Was the very _first_ hippy.”

The girl smiled up at Jace and handed him the joint.

“Are you somehow drunk, Luce?” He asked, holding the joint awkwardly and looking down at his brother.

“No, no it’s another thing… I’m…” he turned to the girl, “What did you call it?”

“Stoned.  He’s stoned.”

“Mmm.”  Jace said, “Being stoned was less fun in my day.”  He tried to look disapproving, failed and instead sat down with the pair and started to smoke.

After the joint had been round twice more, Jace realized something.

“This isn’t enough to have got you in _this_ state.”

“ _No_ , there’s been lost… _lots_ , I mean, lots of things.  Pills, mushrooms, bits of blotting paper.  Lots not lost, **_lots_**.”

“ _You’re_ lost.” Jace said, sadly.

“Noo, you _found_ me.” He smiled, “With this many people and not even knowing I was here, you _found_ me.  I even dressed the same.”  He looked down at his mud spattered jeans, specially tailored to fit his long legs, he had paid extra to have them ‘distressed’.

“I doubt they’d have let you in dressed ‘square’,” Jace laughed.

“Or got me stoned.” Lucifer agreed, “Or laid.” He put his arm around the girl, she smiled up at him in the dazed way of someone who had recently experienced their first orgasm, followed by their second, third, forth…

“Where’d the music go?” Lucifer asked, pouting.

“They’re still waiting for some of the acts to arrive.  Probably stuck in traffic.” Jace said.

“Can I borrow your guitar?” Lucifer asked.  The young man sitting across from them was falling asleep, anyway.

“Sure,” he said, drowsily, handing it over.

Lucifer gently ran his fingers over the strings, learning the tiny nuances that made this instrument different from all the others of its kind.  Then he played.

It wasn’t anything that anyone had heard before, including him.  He just poured his emotions through his fingers and into the guitar.  His pain at his fall and the eons spent in Hell, his pleasure at spending ‘vacation’ time on Earth.  All the things he loved about _here_ : the drugs, the sex, the music, oh the _music_.  Even the rain, last night - the novelty of having something _clean_ fall from the sky instead of that wretched ash - had had him tipping his head back to feel it on his face.

When the next act finally took to the stage, Lucifer handed the guitar back to its owner, who looked stricken.

“Man.” He said, “I’d sell my soul to the Devil to be able to play like that.”

Lucifer looked at him.

“Why in the world would I want your soul?” he asked, before Jace hurriedly pulled him away.

There were more drugs, more women, a few men and, at last, the inevitable downer that was Amenadiel.

“Are you coming back willingly or do you need to be dragged?” His tone of voice suggested that he would quite like to do the dragging.

“I’m going nowhere until Hendrix has been on.” Lucifer said, blowing smoke in Amenadiel’s eyes.

Jace looked up from where he was sitting.  He chanelled his Father and fixed his gaze on Amenadiel.

“ _I’ll_ make sure he gets back alright.  _You_ can go.” He said, coldly.

“Alright,” Amenadiel said, surprised that his youngest sibling was even here.  “ _You_ get him back to Hell, as soon as this ‘Hendrix’ has finished.”

***

Lucifer shook the jeans out, they had washed up quite well, considering how much mud had been on them by the end.  He rummaged deeper in the case, there was a tie dye shirt in here somewhere.  The guitar he had insisted on stopping and buying on the way back with Jace, that day, lay on the bed.

“What time’s our flight?” Chloe called out to him.

“It’s a private jet, so… whenever we show up.” He replied, hoping she would enjoy his choice of honeymoon and wondering how much she would laugh at him when she saw him in his ‘Woodstock’ clothes.


	8. Overdue Conversations

 

Linda and Amenadiel

(Takes place after Lucifer and Chloe leave for the airport for their honeymoon)

 

“We need to talk.” Linda had said, once Lucifer’s limo had been waved on its way, leading Amenadiel around the corner to an all night coffee place.

‘ _What could have happened?_ ’ He wondered, looking across the table at Linda.  He had been on Earth long enough to know that the words ‘ _we need to talk’_ never meant anything _good_.

“I need to ask you where you think our relationship is going.” Linda said, getting straight to the point.

“I…”

“You were asking Jace, earlier, what you might have to do to earn your Father’s forgiveness and it occurred to me to wonder what you would do if you _had_ that.”

Amenadiel stared at her.  He honestly didn’t know.

“You would, presumably, get your wings back, get your powers back.  What would that mean, for _us_?” She prompted.

“I truly haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“But there’s a very good chance that you would… just fly back home?”

“If Father wanted me to…”

“Then, of course, you _would_.  He’s God, why _wouldn’t_ you?  Once you got there, presumably, you would be in no hurry to come back down here.”

“It’s not at all certain that Father ever _will_ forgive me and I’m really very fond of you…”

“Fond."  Linda sighed,  " _Yes_ and I’ve been lying to myself, thinking that this can ever be more than that.”

“Are you saying we should stop?”

“I want to be with you, _so_ much, Amenadiel but the thing _you_ want most isn’t _us,_ it’s your Father’s forgiveness.“

“You can’t _blame_ me for that…“

“Of course not, he’s _God_ ; there’s really no contest and that’s why we should end it, _now_ , before someone gets hurt.”

“No.  You can’t just take this away from us.  It’s not f…”

“What?  Not _fair_?  How _fair_ would it be if you got your wings back and just _left_?  You’ve made me happier than I’ve been in a long time but it’s better that we just stop.  Go back to being friends.”

“Friends?  Friends was good but...”

“Also, what if you, being with me, is distracting you from whatever it is that you have to do?  Did you ever think of that?”

“I… no… I…”

“That’s why it’s better that we end it now, while we still can.”  ‘ _and then I can figure out how to tell Maze.’_  She thought.

 

***

 

Linda and Maze

(Takes place after Maze gets back from her Disneyland trip with Trixie)

 

“I’ll _kill_ him.  Let me kill him for you, _please_.”  Maze stalked around the room, twirling her knives.

“Maze, I’m _so_ sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.  He made me so _angry_ at the beginning, lying to me, letting me think he was a doctor.  Then later, after I got out of the hospital, we bonded when we burned all of Lucifer’s wings and when Reese died, we talked and it helped and…”  Linda was crying now.

“Don’t. Blame. _Yourself_.”  Maze said, through gritted teeth.  “He’s an _angel_ , even _fallen_ , they’re hard to resist, for, you know, _humans_.  He _clearly_ took advantage.”

“I…”

“He’s just a Daddy’s boy who was amusing himself until _Daddy_ forgives him.”  Maze sneered.  “And if he gave you Chlamydia he’s _definitely_ dead.”

“No,” Linda couldn’t help laughing, “That was a false alarm.”

“Oh, well, _good_.” Maze pulled Linda into her arms.  “No harm done.  I blame Lucifer, he gave you a taste and then took it away…”

“No.  _I_ was the one who stopped it, with Lucifer, not _him_.  I just couldn’t keep doing something so _unethical_ , how ever good it was.”

Maze looked at her, shocked.

“You managed to stop with _Lucifer_?  On your _own_?  _That’s_ why I love you, you know, you’re so _strong_ … for a human.”

“Maze?” Linda looked up at her, “You _love_ me?”

“Oops.”

 

***

 

Lucifer and Jace

(Takes place in the basement of Lux after Lucifer gets back from his honeymoon)

 

“So, where is he?”  Lucifer asked, looking around the empty room.  The manacles that had chained Cain to the wall were vacant.

Despite it being Maze’s most extreme ‘playroom’, the place was, now, forensically clean.

“Where he belongs, in Hell.” Jace said.

“Dead?”

“No.  Amenadiel _really_ messed up when he gave Cain his mark.  The idea was to warn humans that they should _not_ kill him - sevenfold payback if you do - instead, he gave him a mark that made him _immortal_ and created a being who managed to _invent_ organized crime.  All the eons of misery and death that that man has been responsible for, could have been avoided.”

“Is it safe to leave him alive, in Hell?”

“He’s locked in and his brother is keeping him busy.  He won’t get out.”

“Mum did.”

“Cain is hardly in the same league as your mother.”

“True.  What happened with her and Daniel?”

“Daniel went to her of his own free will, probably because Chloe had just told him that she was marrying you.”

“And Charlotte?”

“Zoran used Azrael’s blade on her.” Jace said, quietly.  “ _Before_ he came to see you.  He emptied her soul out of her body so that your mother would have a physical…”

“..body to shag her douche in.” Lucifer finished, disgustedly.

“I wouldn’t want to be in Daniel’s shoes if your mother tires of him.”

“She does get bored easily.”

“I did get Azrael’s blade back, though.”

“Maze said you could stop time for _her_ , you can do it for celestials as well?”

“Did you _notice_ any time stops that night?”

“Bloody hell.  Just how powerful _are_ you?”  Lucifer asked, realizing that if _he_ hadn’t noticed time stopping, then it had stopped for _him_ as well.

Jace shrugged.

“I was Father’s P.A. for almost two millennia and I’ve been covering for him since he left…”

“I wonder how people like Lopez, people who _believe_ would feel, if they knew that when they pray to _Him_ , they get the understudy?”

“Understudy?” Jace laughed,  “Good way to describe it.  I suppose, they should be happy that someone cares enough to listen.”

“If you have Azrael’s blade, you could have used it on Cain.” Lucifer said, changing the subject.  “Wiped him out of existence.”

“He doesn’t deserve it, he deserves to be punished.”

“At least we have the option, if he ever gets out.  What did you do with the drug money?”

“Charity; kids orphaned by drug abuse, victims of domestic violence brought on by substance abuse…”

“Disabled puppies on crack?”  Lucifer laughed.

“Yeah, that kind of thing,” Jace laughed too, “Mostly the money was for misdirection; humans need a lot of money to disappear, these days and Daniel and Charlotte have gone where no one can find them.  The money is a plausible reason why they will never be found.”

“You could have told me sooner.”

“While you were still under surveillance, it was best that you knew nothing.”

“We _were_ being watched.  I thought so.”

“Luckily Maze picked up Cain before the LAPD even knew that it was him they were looking for.  Once they knew, they were sure that the two of you would be after him for what he did to Chloe.”

“She would have _died_.”  Lucifer said, anger making his words sound like a growl.  “If I hadn’t… joined us together, she would be _gone_.”

“ _Now_ do you forgive yourself for what you did?”

“If I die, I’ve denied her entry to Heaven.”

“Brother, you have seen inside her head, where she can _not_ lie, do you still imagine that she could be happy in Heaven, without _you_?”

“You’re right, of course.  If I hadn’t… I would have lost her.”

“And Lucinda with her.  Then, of course, the fate of the humans would be so much worse.”

“Will she have a _choice_?  Lucinda, I mean.”

“She _will_ have freedom of choice but do you _truly_ believe that a child of yours and Chloe’s would have the means to help save the world and _not_ do the right thing?”


	9. The Lucinda Chronicles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has Dr. William Rush in a short cameo. Anyone who doesn't know, Rush was also played by Tom Ellis and had many Lucifer-like qualities. Not really a crossover but inspired by one written by Antarctic_echoes (Rush and the devil's deal)

Part 1: The Birth

It had been a normal pregnancy, maybe even _abnormal_ in its normality.  Did _anyone_ ever have a _text book_ pregnancy?

Chloe had.

The _first_ time, when she had been pregnant with Trixie - morning sickness followed by a craving for cucumber dipped in crunchy peanut butter - fairly normal stuff.  _This_ time, when she had thought, carrying the Anti-Christ, that she would at _least_ be craving raw meat,  it hadn’t even felt as though she was pregnant.  Yes, her breasts had grown, much to Lucifer’s enthusiasm, yes, she had a baby bump, yes, her baby moved around a lot.  Everything was perfect.  That can’t be right, can it?

Everything normal.  Blood tests, blood pressure, scans (blurry pictures of Lucinda’s face, Lucifer openly crying as he watched) _her_ worry that there might be wings visible or _something_ to freak out the medical staff.  All unfounded.  All that _normal_ leading to a huge accumulation of unused weirdness.

All leading towards tonight…

“Lucifer,”  Chloe called from the bathroom, “I think my waters broke.”

Lucifer had read all the books on human pregnancy that he could get his hands on and, as the due date got closer he had made plans.  A deluxe maternity suite was reserved and on standby - babies seldom turn up on time - he’d already packed a suitcase with all the things that the books recommended should be taken.  All he had to do was phone to tell them that he and Chloe were on their way.

All the lights went out.

It was totally dark - major power outage dark. 

His eyes automatically adjusted, flashing red as he started to make out shapes in the darkness.

“Lucifer?”

“Don’t move, Chloe, I’ll come to you.  Maze, check that Beatrice is alright.”

He was relieved that they weren’t at the penthouse, tonight.  The thought of having to get Chloe safely down all those stairs…  He fumbled in his pocket for his phone… the screen was dark… what the fuck?  He _knew_ he had charged it…

“Mommy, my flashlight isn’t working.” Trixie said, coming out of her room, clinging to Maze, who, like him, could see perfectly well, albeit in shades of gray.

Lucifer walked out onto the balcony, taking care not to step in the pool, which was only a shade darker than the paving.  He took in the view.  Where there should be millions of lights, there was only blackness, as far as the eye could see.

Even the roads, he realized.

That _couldn’t_ be right.  If the power had gone out, _cars_ would still have lights, as would torches and phones - things with _batteries_ …

What the hell had happened?

Chloe groaned.

“Are you timing these contractions, Decker?” Maze’s voice came from inside the house and Lucifer went back to join them.

‘ ** _This_** _is why.’_ He thought.

“I’m not _sure_ how long it’s been.  I thought they were Braxton Hicks, I’ve had them a lot, lately and I’m not _due_ yet…” Chloe’s voice turned to gasps followed by rapid breathing.

“Maze, get some towels to put under her, I’m going to sort out some light.”  Lucifer said and unfurled his wings.

Instantly the room was bathed in white light.

“I think she’s coming right now.  Can you sit here and hold me?”  Chloe asked and Lucifer sat on the floor behind her so she could lean back on him, his wings protectively around them both.

Chloe clenched his hand in hers as another contraction hit and Lucifer winced, grateful that he was no longer mortal around her.

“They say that the pain of childbirth is _my_ fault.”  He said, apologetically, when her breathing had returned to normal.

“That’s just _bull.”_ She replied, tipping her head back so that she could kiss him.  “It hurts because we walk upright and our babies have big heads to accommodate their brains.”  She gasped some more and started to push again.

“I think I can see the head,”  Maze said, excitedly, from where her and Trixie were watching.

“She has dark hair, like Lucifer.”  Trixie squealed.

“One more push should do it, Decker.”

That was how Lucinda arrived, into Maze’s hands, surrounded by family and her father’s wings.  Maze put her into Chloe’s arms.

“So beautiful.” Chloe said and Lucinda opened her eyes.

Lucifer had seen, eons ago, the blackness of eternity, before he had lit the first star.  Once light had come, he realized that the darkness wasn’t black at all but the very deepest of blues.  He saw that blue, now, in the eyes of his baby daughter and was irrevocably entranced.

There was a loud knocking on the front door.  Maze went down to answer it, her knife at the ready.

“Lucifer?” She called out, “Did you call that doctor?”

“I haven’t called anyone, who is it?”  He called back.

“It’s me.” Dr. William Rush said, coming in and barely glancing at Lucifer’s wings.  “Don’t ask me how I got here, I don’t know.  One minute I was looking for a flashlight in my room and the next I’m standing outside your door.  How long ago did the baby come?”

“Less than two minutes,” Chloe said, distantly, completely absorbed in her baby.

“Okay, we need to check her over and deliver the placenta.  At least you have a light source.”  He looked at the wings.  “I’m not judging, I’ve seen it all; joss sticks, whale song Cds, scented candles, pictures of kittens.  _Actual_ kittens…”

“Why do you look like Lucifer?”  Trixie asked.

“I don’t, _he_ looks like me.” Rush said, unpacking his bag.

“No, _I_ was here first.” Lucifer said, in an amused tone, he’d forgotten that Trixie hadn’t met Rush before.

“Maybe we’re brothers, you think of that?” Rush asked Trixie; she thought about it.

“Noo, I’ve met some of Lucifer’s brothers, they don’t look much like him and if _you_ were one, you’d have wings.”

“Riight.”

The lights slowly came back, as though someone had turned up a dimmer switch and Lucifer shrugged his shoulders and his wings went.

Dr. Rush had a jaw-drop moment before Trixie distracted him.

“ _I_ want to be a doctor when I grow up.”

“Thought you wanted to be president of Mars.”  Maze said.

“Yeah but I need a _proper_ job, first.”  She looked at Rush, who was taking Lucinda from Chloe.  “Is it hard?” She asked.

“Not if you’re smart and it‘s what you want to do.”  He said,  “You can help with _this_ , if you like.“  He looked at Chloe and Lucifer and they nodded.  “Okay, we have sterile clips to clamp the umbilical cord but first we need to hold the baby slightly lower than the mother so that the blood from the placenta can circulate into the baby.”  Trixie nodded, hanging on every word.  “The placenta is actually _part_ of the baby and if you clamp it off too soon, some of her blood will be left behind.  Doing it this way reduces her risk of anaemia and iron deficiency…“  His voice trailed off as he looked down at Lucinda, who also seemed to be hanging on his every word..

The silence stretched as her eyes met his.  He had stopped moving and was just gazing…

“Rush?”

The voice came from miles away and was easy to ignore, he couldn’t let… this… this…

“Rush?”  Lucifer snapped his fingers in the space between the doctor and Lucinda.

“Wha..?”  He looked around at everyone, then back at Lucinda..  “Her eyes are tracking.“  He said, in a shocked voice, “That’s just not…“  He looked at Chloe and then Maze who was holding a threatening looking knife, saw Lucifer’s face, _his_ eyes… red?  “Okay, then,” he said, trying to make sense of what had happened, handing Lucinda back to Chloe and turning to Trixie,  “Clips.”

***

 

Part two: Sleepless Nights

The weird power outage still dominated the news, days later and was linked to some strange solar fluctuations that had been visible on the daylight side of the Earth whilst Lucinda was being born on the night side.  Lucifer and everyone who knew who he _truly_ was, were in no doubt that Lucinda was responsible.  Scientists talked a lot about electromagnetic radiation and various internet users argued that if that _had_ been the case, the effects would have been longer lasting.  Also, there was the question of deaths - none had been directly caused by whatever it was - _clearly_ it was aliens or a government conspiracy or…

Whatever.

The bedside light switched on just as Lucinda started to fret.  Chloe sighed and reached out to her daughter, gently settling her in bed and plonking a slightly sore nipple into her mouth.  Since the birth, Chloe and Lucifer had rapidly learnt what it meant to raise the child of the Light-bringer, in a domestic setting, on planet Earth.

She literally brought light.

First, it was the overhead light in the bedroom - as a way to be woken up, Chloe found it harsh and disorientating.  Lucifer took the light bulb out.

Then, the bedside light but with no bulb _there_ , Lucinda just lit the rest of the house, so they came to a compromise; a low power bulb and no electricity running to the lamp.  Now, the light came on enough to wake Chloe but not enough to hurt her eyes.

“Does she need changing?” Lucifer asked, from where he was laying, the other side of Chloe.

“No, she’s fine but if you could get _me_ some juice?”  Chloe asked, quietly.

Lucinda looked up at her father, through sleepy eyes, as he walked around the bed.

‘ _Your baby sees things best from 8 to 12 inches away.’_ The quote from the book came back to Lucifer as he looked at her and smiled.  Despite having her mouth full, she smiled back.

 _‘What do the books know, anyway?’_  He thought, ‘ _They were written for **human** children.’_

He opened the bedroom door and almost ran into Maze, who was standing outside, twirling her knife.

“What are you doing?” He asked, quietly.

“Standing guard.  Decker’s vulnerable while she’s doing that gross _mammalian_ thing; anyone wants to hurt Lucinda, has to go through _me_.”

“ _I’m_ here.  _I_ can protect them.”

“You’re leaving them _alone_.”

“I’m going to the kitchen for _juice_ , Chloe’s thirsty.  I’ll be all of two minutes.”

“Lot can happen in two minutes.” She twirled some more.  “I swore an oath.”

“And I _released_ you from that oath…”

“Not _that_ oath, not _your_ oath…”

“What, then?”

“ _Lucinda’s_ oath.  I swore an oath to _her_.”

“Does she know?  I mean, did she _understand_?”  Lucifer was intrigued, now.

“She touched me.  Marked me.”  Maze swept her hair back and proudly showed him.  Right at the front of her head, one of her dark hairs was pure white.

“ _Seriously_?”

“Yes,” She hissed.  “I knelt before her crib, pledged myself and she put her hand on my head.”

“You don’t mind?”

“I like it, it gives me a warm glow, deep inside; reminds me of home.  Go get Decker her juice.”

“When will you _sleep_?” Lucifer asked, with a smile.

“When I’m dead.”  Maze said, determinedly.

 

 

 


	10. The Lucinda Chronicles (Continued)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More 'snapshots' of Lucinda's childhood.

Part three: The Terrible Twos

 

Chloe sighed as she saw the unmistakable signs that her youngest daughter was about to go into meltdown.  They were in the mall - shopping for new clothes, for a toddler that seemed to grow while they watched.

Lucinda was such a beautiful child - dark hair which curled rebelliously, like her father’s did; killer cheek bones and a sultry smile, like her mother - but, at this awkward stage in her development, beauty was definitely skin deep.

She was trying on dresses, for Trixie’s birthday party the following week and had suddenly decided that Trixie should be part of the decision.

“Want Tixiiie.”  She wailed.

“Trixie’s at school, sweetie.”  Chloe said calmly, remembering when Trixie had gone through this stage.  Lucifer just looked amused.

“Tixiiiie…”

“Let’s buy all the dresses that fit you and then you can try them on for Beatrice, when she gets home.”  Lucifer said, reaching for his money clip.

“We _can’t_ do that,”  Chloe hissed at him,  “It sends _completely_ the wrong message…”

She was interrupted by a piercing screech.

Other parents were watching, now; some were smugly smirking that it wasn’t _their_ child.  The lights flickered and Lucifer bent down to pick up his unruly offspring. 

“This is completely unacceptable behaviour.”  He said, sternly; flashing his red eyes at her.

She kicked him in the shin and screeched again.  Every light bulb in the store burned out, simultaneously.  Calmly, Lucifer tucked his daughter under one arm, pulled around half of the bills from his money clip and handed them to the store manager.

“This should cover the cost of the lights and the dress that she has on.”  He said, smiling at the man, as though he _didn’t_ have a struggling hell-cat under his arm.  Chloe gathered up Lucinda’s own clothes as best she could, in the dim light that spilled in from the windows.  She followed Lucifer to the car park.

Lucinda was almost asleep when her father strapped her into her car seat in the back of the family six-seater.

“Sorry, Daddy,”  She murmured.

“It’s alright, we’ll talk later.”  He closed the door and straightened up.

“Who do I have to kill?”  Maze asked, startling Chloe, who was loading various things into the trunk.

“Another false alarm, I’m afraid,” Lucifer said, wearily.

“Alarm is right,” Maze spat, “She screams in my head and I run to wherever she is and for _what_?”

“ _This_ time?  She wanted Beatrice to see the dress she’d tried on.”

Maze snorted.  She looked in at the sleeping child and, amazingly, her face softened.

“Looks good on her, bit crumpled, though.”

“I had to put her under my arm.”  Lucifer explained.  “Can we give you a lift home?  Or did you bring your car?”

“I’ll take the ride.  I can’t even get _angry_ at her.”  Maze shook her head at the absurdness of it and climbed in next to Lucinda.

“She kicked _me_ in the shin.”  Lucifer told her.  She laughed.  “ _What_?  It’s going to _bruise_.” Lucifer protested, sounding like Maze’s laughter was hurting more than his leg.

“I’ll kiss it better when we get home,”  Chloe said, smiling as he got into the driver’s seat, next to her.

“Come to think of it, she might have got me higher up, as well.” He was smirking, now.

“No she didn’t.”

“Can we pretend?”

“Maybe.  You didn’t lose your temper, you didn’t show your devil face… you’re actually pretty good at this.”

“I read all the books.  I am _not_ going to be a bad father.”

“You were already a wonderful father to Trixie…”

“I froze every time she hugged me, I tried to get her to play fetch…”

“You spent more time with her than her _actual_ father - when he was here; you listen to her when she talks, you traumatized a bully for her the day you _met_.  When she asked if you wanted to adopt her, you didn’t even have to _think_ about it…”

“She just wanted my name so she’d match Lucinda…”  He said but his proud smile told Chloe that he knew that wasn’t the reason.

“You built her a diamond, one atom at a time.”

“Yes.  Well.  I like to keep busy, you know what they say about idle hands…”

Maze sniggered from behind them.

***

Much later that night, Lucinda opened her eyes; her father was with her, staring as if she were a complex puzzle.

“How are you feeling, now?”  He asked, gently.

“Calm, rational.  I don’t understand why I’m not this way all the time.”

“I’m not certain but I think it’s because your half-human body tires easily and the brain is still developing.”

“It’s like swimming through swamp.  I can’t find the _words_ , I can’t _pronounce_ them properly.”

“Beatrice _loves_ that you call her ‘Tixie’.”

“I know.  She‘ll always be Tixie to me.  The thing with the lights…”

“Can’t be helped.  You’ll learn control, as you get older.”

“I’m sorry I kicked you.  I _can_ actually hurt you, can’t I?”

“You’re my own flesh and blood, of course you can.  This… _rage_ that you feel is a normal part of your development.  All human spawn go through it.  It‘s expected.”

“But I’ll always be different.”

“Yes.  Unlike humans, _you_ will _remember_ all of it.”

“Sobering thought.  I’ll try not to embarrass myself too much, then.”  She smiled at him.  “I never remember these _dreams_ when I wake up, though.”

“That’s alright, Sweetheart; _I_ remember them.”

“ _Is_ this even real?”

“Of course, the dream dimension is as real as any other.  It just has no _substance_.”

“Tixie has _bad_ dreams, sometimes.”

“Nothing here can harm you but if you’re ever here and afraid… remember who your father is.”

“The stuff of other people’s nightmares.”  She said, smirking, in a way that reminded him of, well, _him_.  It was strange to see _that_ smirk on what looked remarkably like _Chloe’s_ mouth.

“You are protected.”  He told her, as she dropped out of R.E.M. sleep and faded into nothing. 

Lucifer sighed in _his_ sleep and turned over.

***

Part four: Music Hath Charms

Piano music filled the house.  Chloe smiled happily, as she went towards the sound.  She became confused when she saw that Lucifer was standing by the open door to the main living area, watching.

He saw her and put his finger to his lips.  He moved back to her.

“Who’s playing?” She whispered.

“Lucinda.” He whispered back.

“I didn’t know you’d been teaching her.”

“I haven’t.”

“What’s she playing?  It sounds familiar.”

“I suppose you _could_ say it’s an original composition.  She’s expressing her emotions through the piano.  _That’s_ why it sounds familiar to you, it’s _her_.  Three and half years of life experience pouring out of her and into the world, via music.”

“Shouldn’t we be recording it?”

“It’s alright, she’ll remember it, _I’ll_ remember it… I can play it for you, any time.”

They stood in silence and listened.  There were happy, light, tinkling sections which Chloe felt sure represented Trixie; spiky, aggressive, yet somehow _friendly_ parts that _had_ to be Maze.  Chloe closed her eyes and could almost visualize each person in her daughter’s life, rendered in musical notes and somehow giving the impression of love and contentment.

“I don’t think they’ll be any more temper tantrums, not now she can do this.”  Lucifer whispered.

***

“It’s not fair, it’s not _bloody_ fair.”

“Don’t swear, Trixie.  What isn’t fair?” Chloe said, wearily.  Of _course_ now that Lucinda was more manageable, _Trixie_ would start acting out.  _Teenagers_.

“ _Bloody’s_ not swearing, _Lucifer_ says it all the time.  All British people do, it‘s how you know they‘re _British_.”

“Well, _you’re_ not British and neither’s Lucifer, come to think of it, he’s…”  She broke off, wondering where she was going with this.

“Hellish?”  Lucifer suggested,  “Heavenly?”

“Stop trying to help.”  Chloe said, firmly.

“It’s not fair that Lulu can play the piano now and she hasn’t had _any_ lessons and _I’ve_ been learning for years, practising _really_ hard and I’m never going to be special, like her… and…”

“ ** _Enough_**.” The power in Lucifer’s voice stopped her mid-flow in her rant.  “You will _always_ be special, Beatrice.  You were the first spawn I ever got to _like_.  There _are_ children in Hell, the _worst_ of humanity’s mistakes, _evil_ children.  I had _no_ idea what normal human children were meant to _be_.  _You_ always knew who _I_ was and you loved me anyway.  Oh and for the record, you are going to be a _fantastic_ doctor who plays the piano exceptionally well.”

“How do you know, can you see the future?”  Trixie asked, awe in her voice.

“No but I’ve been teaching you the piano for long enough to know that you have strong hands and very nimble, dexterous fingers.  Extremely useful for a doctor.”

“I’m gonna be a ninja, too.”  She said, rebelliously.

“Perfect.”  Lucifer said, with a smirk, “You’ll be able to put people in the hospital, then fix them up and get them to pay you for it.  You’ll _never_ be short of work.”

Trixie started laughing, her bad mood forgotten.

Chloe pulled Lucifer in for a kiss.

“You always seem to know the right thing to say and _don’t_ say it’s because you read all the books, this goes beyond that.”

“Well, I do have _some_ insight into rebellious offspring…”

 

 

 

 

 


	11. The Lucinda Chronicles (Continued)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More 'slices of life' as the Anti-Christ gets older.

 

Part five:  The Feather in the Rock

 

It was a normal Saturday; fourteen year old Trixie had gone to the mall with her current best friend, Laura; four year old Lucinda was at home, lounging on the sofa.  She was watching cartoons with both eyes but _listening_ to the TV with only _one_ ear, while an ear bud in the other ear played music.  To start with, Chloe had worried about hearing damage - the ear bud was an almost _permanent_ fixture - but once she realized how low Lucinda had the volume set, she wondered how the child could even _hear_ the music in the first place.

Lucinda was obsessed.  She was determined to listen to every piece of music ever created on planet Earth and was having as much of it as possible, streamed directly into her ear.  Taking after her father, she only had to hear a piece once to commit it to memory forever, even if she _was_ watching TV at the same time.

Lucifer was in the kitchen, humming softly as he prepared lunch.

Chloe was at the table, finishing off paperwork.  She’d never made it back to work full time but she and Lucifer still consulted for the LAPD, on a part-time basis.

There was a crash in the kitchen.  Chloe looked up but there were no further sounds.

“Daddy left.”  Lucinda said, distractedly.

Chloe ran to the kitchen.  A large salad bowl, salad still mostly on it, lay broken into three pieces on the floor.  Of Lucifer, there was no sign.  Chloe looked out of the window, the car was still in the driveway.  Wherever he had gone, he had flown.

“Lucy, honey, do you know where Daddy _went_?”

“Nope...”  She said, popping the ‘p’ like her father,  “..but he was in a hurry.”

***

The underground parking garage had CCTV but it also had blind-spots and parked in one of these was a nondescript blue van.  The driver was cowering in the corner of the back of the van, crying.

His day had started so well.  He and his friend had had a good racket going; most weekends they would drive to one of the many malls in the state, wearing generic security guard uniforms.  Then, they would hang out in the food hall looking for prey.  Girls in their early teens were best, preferably in pairs.  At that awkward age it was always feasible that they might go off on an adventure, together.  If they never came back, well the police usually wrote them off as runaways.  So long as no bodies turned up…

The two who they’d picked out for ‘special’ treatment today, had seemed ideal - one blonde, one dark, one pink and fluffy, one leaning toward gothic - it had been no trouble slipping a little designer something into their shakes, while they were whispering and giggling.  Something that made them easier to deal with, something that made them open to suggestion… and, if someone noticed two teenage girls being led away by security, well, they’d jump to their own conclusions, wouldn’t they?

Usually, it went without a hitch.  Usually, the girls got into the van without a fuss and were driven off to their new, less pleasant, lives.  The two men got their money and if they’d sampled the goods before dropping them off, well, who cared?

They’d tossed a coin to see which one of them would ride in back and which one would drive.  Loser drove.  He had started the engine, turning his head to watch, through the hatch, as his friend had started to strip the blonde one.

“Don’ do tha’.”  The dark haired girl had slurred.

The man had turned to face her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get _your_ turn..”  He’d said.

Her hand had flicked towards him making a wet squelching sound.  The driver had watched as his friend fell back, twitched a bit, then lay still..

“What?”  He’d got out of the driver’s seat and went to open the back doors.

Then a whooshing sound and the air around him had shifted.

Then there was a nightmare of screaming…

***

“Lu-fi-cer?”  Trixie looked up at him with bleary eyes.

“It’s alright Beatrice, you’re safe now.”  Lucifer said, surveying the scene and wondering what the police would say when _they_ arrived.

Laura was unconscious and Trixie was heading in that direction.  One of the men was a gibbering wreck and the other…

The other was flat on his back, with what looked like a pink, glittery pompom covering one eye.  Lucifer peered at it and the streak of red that had trickled down the man‘s face.  Everything became clear when he realized that the pompom was attached to the blunt end of a ball point pen.  The sharp end had gone into the man’s eye and was buried so far in the brain that only the pompom was visible.  _‘Well played, Beatrice.’_

“Stabbed… _his_.. ass.”  Trixie declared, managing to sound both drunk _and_ triumphant.

“I think you’ll find that you _actually_ got him higher up but not to worry, it was extremely effective.”

***

Chloe and Lucinda got to the hospital as quickly as they could.  They found Lucifer sitting by Trixie’s bed, waiting for her to wake up.  There was also a police officer who was asking some _very_ awkward questions.

“So, you’ve stated that your step-daughter called you because she was in danger.”

“Yes.  I was at home, preparing lunch, I dropped everything and went to her.”  Lucifer said, in the quiet measured way he spoke when he was angry and trying to suppress it.

“Is she alright?”  Chloe asked, looking at Trixie’s still form.

“Yes.  The doctors say she should wake up in a few hours.”  Lucifer replied, looking at Chloe, over the shoulder of the annoying cop.

“How did you know where she was?  Have you got a tracker on her?”  The officer demanded.

“Anyone can be tracked by their phone, these days.”  Chloe said, hurriedly.  “I think that these questions can wait until tomorrow.”  She glared at the police officer.

“A man is _dead_ and your daughter is involved.”

“From what I saw, when _I_ got there, the dead man deserved what happened to him.”  Lucifer said, disgust evident on his face.

“We are not discussing _this_ in front of a four year old.”  Chloe said.

The cop looked down at Lucinda, who was watching him as though he was something she’d put under a microscope.  Her eyes were very round and that odd dark blue that he’d never seen as an eye colour, before.

“Coffee and carrot cake.”  He said, sounding dazed.  He put his note pad away and left.

“Lucy?”  Chloe asked.

“It’s what he wants, right now.  He’s gone to get it.”  Lucinda said, sounding slightly smug.  “Will Tixie be in trouble?”

“Why would she be in trouble, sweetie?”  Chloe asked.

“For killing the bad man.”

“ _She_..?”  Chloe was shocked.

“She did.”  Lucifer said, a tinge of pride in his voice.  “He was attacking Laura.  _I_ got there in time to stop the other one from hurting Beatrice.  I’m sure _he’ll_ feel a strong need to confess and, hopefully, implicate the other people involved.”

“How did _you_ know?”  Chloe asked Lucinda.

“I can smell the passing of his soul, on her.”  Lucinda answered, as though it was obvious.  Lucifer nodded, it made perfect sense to _him_.

“I might pop down to Hell, later, make sure he’s settling in…”  He said, with a smirk.

“It was the feather, wasn’t it?”  Chloe asked, “The one in the diamond that you gave her when we got engaged.”

“It gives me a connection to her.  I knew she was in danger.  Sorry about lunch.”

“Screw lunch.”  Chloe said, hugging him in gratitude.

***

By morning, the FBI were involved.  The man who had had the unfortunate encounter with Lucifer’s less pleasant side, had, predictably, confessed.  A gang of human traffickers had been taken down and some of the teenage girls had been recovered.

Lucifer had had to suffer endless questions (The FBI) and copiously effusive thanks (Laura’s parents).  Trixie had woken up with nothing worse than a headache and Laura, who had been completely out of it for the worst parts, had no idea what the fuss was about.

Maze was quietly smug.  Her self defence lessons with Trixie had clearly paid off, particularly the one she liked to call ’using everyday objects to dispatch an enemy when they _think_ you’re unarmed.’  She had laughed a lot over Lucifer’s graphic description of the dead man - humiliation as well as death - Laura was never going to get her ‘girly’ pen back.

The FBI agents were familiar with Maze’s capabilities and realized that it was now _obvious_ how a roofied fourteen year old girl had taken out a grown man.  Mostly they were of the opinion that she should get a medal.

***

 

Part six: Kindergarten daze

“Mr and Mrs Morningstar,”  Lucinda’s teacher said, “I’m glad that you had time for this little chat, we find we have some concerns about your daughter.”

“What kind of concerns?”  Chloe asked; surreptitiously putting a restraining hand on Lucifer’s knee, under the desk.

The woman had the decency to look uncomfortable.

“Is she entirely normal?”  she asked, at last.

“Is anyone?”  Lucifer asked, in the most reasonable voice he could muster.

“What happened?”  Chloe asked, fearing the worst.

“Well, it appears that she can already read and write and she spent her first twenty minutes here, talking to a Chinese American girl in, what I imagine was, fluent Cantonese.”

“And this is considered a problem?”  Lucifer asked, relieved that nothing worse had happened.

“As a gifted child, she should be in an appropriate learning environment.”

“We weren’t expecting her to learn reading and writing here.  She learns that sort of thing at home…”

“Are you saying that she’s home schooled, Mrs. Morningstar?”

“In a way.  We don’t want her growing up isolated from children of her own age, though.  Her sister is ten years older than her…”

“I’m sorry but you can’t send her to school just for the ‘social experience’ it’s disruptive.”

“How has she been ‘disruptive’?”  Lucifer asked.

“Well.. she.. er.. there’s a boy who’s been acting out a lot and she…”

“She what?”  Chloe asked, wondering where this was going.

“She _looked_ at him.”

“And?”  Lucifer was _looking_ at her now.

“He whispered something in her ear, she whispered something back and…”

“Yes?”

“Well, he’s stopped acting out.  _That’s_ not the point, though; we don’t encourage whispering and secrets, it’s not healthy.  Also, there’s the question of her.. er.. nanny?”

“Mazikeen is her bodyguard.  She is under strict instructions _not_ to come onto school premises unless there’s a threat.  In that event, she would, of course, do her best to protect _all_ of the children.”  Lucifer said, smoothly;  not mentioning that, of course, Lucinda would take precedence.

“Lucinda has been talking to her through the fence.”

“Interesting.”  Lucifer said, quietly.

“We don’t encourage talking to strangers…”

“Hardly a stranger, she’s on the list of people who can collect Lucy from school.”  Chloe said.

“Yes but she’s a stranger to the other children…”

“So you’re saying that parents aren’t allowed to talk to their children whilst on school premises because the other children here don’t know them?”  Lucifer scoffed.

“A bodyguard is _not_ a parent.. also, she was absent for around an hour after Lucinda talked to her.  Would she have been on a break?”  The woman sounded as though she would quite like Maze to be in trouble over this.

“I doubt it.”  Lucifer said to himself, then he looked at the woman.  “Tell me, what will it take to make your objections go away?  What is it that you desire..?”

***

“ _That_ went well.”  Chloe said, as they walked towards the car to join Maze and Lucinda.

“Yes.  I thought it would cost a lot more money.”

“She obviously cares about the school, which means that we made the made right choice, sending Lucy here.”

“It’s unusual, not wanting something for herself.  Now, let’s find out what Maze has been up to.”

***

“Steven was angry and scared because a man had been touching him.”  Lucinda said, her eyes blazing with fury.  “He was afraid to tell anyone because the man threatened to hurt his parents if he told.  I told Maze.  She fixed it.”

“That should be a police matter.”  Chloe said.

“ _Maze_ fixed it _today_.”

“How?”  Chloe asked, looking at Maze.

“Showed him my face, showed him my knife; told him what I’d do if I heard that he’d done anything like this again.”

“Give me his address, I’ll pay a little back-up visit, make sure he understands.”  Lucifer said.

“Sure.  He already peed his pants, he should have the chance to shit in them as well.”

“Language, Maze.” 

 

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

 

 

Part seven: Testing

 

She was ten now and spending most of her spare time online.  Lucifer paused outside her bedroom door when he heard her talking to someone.  Beatrice, he realized.  He smiled, it was good that they still talked every day, even though Beatrice was away at college.  It was good that they were close, with so much distance between them; miles, years, _abilities_.

She still went to a mainstream school, Chloe had been right about that, it _was_ best.  She was popular but had no _close_ friends which was okay and _her_ choice.  She was passing for human, passing for _normal_ even though she had voraciously devoured every online education package she could find.  She was probably more qualified in everything than _any_ of the professors at Beatrice’s college.

What _was_ she going to do with it all?

He could hear her typing, now.  For some reason she had completely rejected all the voice activated equipment that was available, in favour of keyboards.  Not even _wireless_ keyboards.  He shrugged, he supposed she knew what she was doing.

What _was_ she doing?

“You _can_ come in, Dad.”  Her voice called to him through the ajar door.

“I didn’t want to disturb you,”  He said, shutting the door behind him, “What are you doing, is that one of those chat rooms?”

“Sort of, I’m fishing.”

“For what?”

“Experimental subjects.”  She said, with a smirk.  “If you could just stand over there, out of sight of the webcam, I’ll let you watch.  Promise not to react, though?”

“I promise.”  He said, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Good.  I wouldn’t want you to scare the fish.”

She typed for a little while.  There seemed to be three or four other children her age in the ‘room‘.

“Got one.”  She said, triumphantly.  “Now, he’s not using _his_ webcam, obviously but…”  She was typing furiously now.  “If I can just… There, got him.”

A man’s face filled the screen.  He was undoubtedly _not_ the ten year old boy he was pretending to be.

Lucifer’s eyes flickered red as he watched his daughter look this man in the eyes and ask him what he truly desired.  When the man told her, Lucifer dug his finger nails into his palms until they bled.

He wasn’t sure _what_ happened next.  He knew that Lucinda didn’t speak; she, instead did something with her keyboard and when she pressed ‘enter’ the man tensed for a second and then started to cry.

“I’m sorry, truly, I’m so sorry…”  He sobbed.

“Prove it to me.  You know what you have to do.”  She said, quietly.

“Yes.  Yes, I know.  I’ll go _now_ , I promise.”

“I’ll know if you _don’t_.”

The man left the screen but his room was visible still.  Lucinda closed down the connection.

“Breathe, Dad.”

Lucifer hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until she said that.

“Where do I find that _vermin_?”  He growled.

“Boston but there‘s no _need_ , he‘s on his way to his local police department to give them a full confession.  He’ll implicate anyone he knows who have committed any similar crimes.”

“How do you _know_?”

“Because that’s what I _told_ him to do.”  She said, confidently.

“You’ve done this before?”  It wasn’t really a question, deep inside he knew that she had.

“Of course.  I have to _test_ the system.  In a few hours, I’ll check Boston PD to make _sure_ but none of the _others_ have ever failed to act on it.”

“Your mother…”

“Will sleep better at night if she doesn’t know.”

“Can they trace this back to you?”

His daughter rolled her eyes, reminding him of Chloe.

“ _Please_ ,”  She said, exasperatedly,  “I’m not an _amateur_.”

 

 

Part eight: Judgement Day, Hell On Earth

“Da-ad, I need a favour.”

Lucifer’s hair prickled as he heard the words of his fifteen year old daughter and instantly flashed back to an aircraft hanger and a pool of blood.

“Shares in a courier company?”  He asked, ignoring the feeling and smirking at all the boxes that had been delivered to Lucinda in the past month.

“Nah, already got ‘em.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, _okay_ , remember when Mum said I shouldn’t have unlimited access to your money and I should learn the value of it by making do with a modest allowance?  And remember how, since then, I’ve never asked for more than I was given?”

Lucifer nodded, remembering the epic bollocking Chloe had given him when he‘d tried to slip extra money to the girls.

“Well, I wrote a piece of software for couriers - logistics, efficient recycling, stuff like that - and I sold it to a small, struggling company, not for cash but for a tiny percentage of their profits.  Then, in exchange for exclusivity, I get stock options.”

“So the deal only works if the company’s successful?”  Her father sounded sceptical.

Lucinda raised an eyebrow and looked, pointedly at the stack of boxes.

“ _These_ people?  But…”

“No one had heard of them five years ago, now they’re the most successful courier company on the planet.”

“And that’s just because of _software_?”  Lucifer shook his head in disbelief.  “I’m _so_ proud of you.  What was the favour you needed from _me_?”

“I need you to fly me down to Hell.”

He stared at her, looking for some indication that she was joking.  She was serious.

“You’ve been talking to your uncle Jace?”  He asked, realizing that it must be _time_.

“He told me to trust my instincts and I would know what to do and when.”

“What do I get in return?”  Lucifer asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“I’ll save the world.”  She said, seriously, looking him in the eyes,  “Oh and I promise I won’t tell Mum.”  She added with a knowing smirk.

“As good as ‘saving the world’ sounds, the second part of the deal is _much_ more important.”  Lucifer said, worriedly.

***

She had luggage, naturally, a large, sturdy bag that looked to be full of hard edges and clinked when she picked it up.  Lucifer rolled his eyes and wondered what she was bringing.

He’d flown with her before, of course - Beatrice and Chloe, too - out across the ocean, late at night or the desert; places where they wouldn’t be seen but Hell…  Hell was always going to be different; to go there with her body as well as her soul…  She wouldn‘t be able to stay long, partly because she was alive and partly because she was half human.  He was grateful that she didn’t have her _own_ wings, she might have attempted this alone.

They were standing in front of Lux.  That was new, his official residence didn’t _used_ to look like the nightclub, then again he didn‘t come here anymore; he‘d only visited the cells, of late.

“Wow.”  Lucinda said, looking up at the building and then turning around slowly and taking in the scenery.  “I never thought it would be this beautiful.”

He gaped at her in shock.

“I can’t _wait_ to see the view from the penthouse.”  She said, walking towards the entrance.

“Careful, we don’t know who or what might be inside.”

The club was packed.  The music was loud and the lights flashed but the people… weren’t.

The music fell silent.  There was a collective rustling sound as everyone dropped to their knees.  The demon closest to them looked up.

“Greetings My King.  Greetings My Princess.”  He said in his raspy voice.

Lucinda was fascinated as she looked at them all.  Some of them were like Maze, _almost_ human but unfinished - she wondered if they could ‘glamour’ their differences and _pass_ for human the way Maze did - others could _never_ pass, not even for _animals_ , on planet Earth.

“Glad to see you’re all hard at work.”  Lucifer said, dryly.

“Forgive us, My King… we…”

“Have stressful jobs and need to relax?  It’s not a problem, carry on.”

They made their way to the elevator that should take them up to the penthouse, if the buildings were identical.  Neither of them noticed a small shadow latch on to the hem of the left leg of Lucinda‘s jeans.

“I’m a _princess_?”  Lucinda asked, with a delighted smile, once the elevator doors had closed.

“To _them_ , yes.  I had to make a few examples, when I first started coming back part time.  The ones that are left all show the proper respect.”

The penthouse was exactly the same layout as the real one, The King of Hell’s residence evidently taking its appearance from Lucifer’s notions of home and workplace combined - he would _never_ be comfortable with a facsimile of his _family_ home existing down here.

Lucinda went straight to the balcony, to check out the view; her awe at its ‘beauty’ definitely _not_ faked.

“Whatever you have to do, it needs to be done quickly, you can’t stay down here too long.”  Her father warned.

She moved back into the room and went to the larger of his wall safes.

“I can set up in here.”  She said, unpacking various square objects from the bag.  It looked like she was setting up computer equipment, surely she couldn’t be…

“What exactly are you doing?”

“Bringing Wi-Fi to Hell.”  She sounded perfectly serious, as she set everything up.  Finally, she took a USB stick and turned to her father.

“Could I trouble you for a drop of your blood?”  She asked, shyly.

He stared at her.

“It’s already got some of mine but it would be better to have yours as well and a demon, if possible.”

“Do you want me to call Maze?”  Lucifer asked, making a tiny pinprick in his thumb with one of his Hell-forged blades.

“Nah-uh, I need one that’s lived its whole life down here,”  She said, squeezing a single drop of her father’s blood into the USB.  “Luckily, one seems to have volunteered.”

She held up her left arm; curled around it, looking like a black snake but with short dense fur instead of scales, the young demon gazed up at her with glowing amber eyes.

“Where did _that_ come from?”  Lucifer asked, amusement in his voice.

“Downstairs, somewhere, I think.”  She held the knife out to the creature.  “May I?”  She asked.

It looked at the blade and then flicked out a forked tongue to the point.  A drop of purplish blood clung to the tip and dropped into the USB.

“Thank you.”  She said.  She pushed the USB into the port and put her hand on the power switch.  “Here we go.  Hell is going live.”  She said the last part as though she was doing a trailer for a cheesy horror film.  The lights in the penthouse dimmed, flickered and came back up.  The computer tower system that she had spent the last week building and the programming that had taken the best part of four years to write, sprung into life.

“It’s done.”  She said.  “We can go home, now.”

The demon coiled its way up her arm to her shoulder and made a soft chirping into her ear, as they rode the elevator back down.

“I don’t see why not,”  Lucinda murmured, “I’ll ask.  Is it okay if I keep her?”  She asked Lucifer.

“So long as _you_ look after her, I suppose it’s alright.” 

The elevator doors opened.

They made their way through the crowd of demons and had almost got to the exit, when Lucinda’s way was blocked.

“ _Runt!”_ One of the demons shouted, pointing to her new friend.  “It dares to touch the Princess, kill the runt.”

The nearby demons took up the chant but before Lucifer could get back to where his daughter was standing, there was a whoosh of air and a pair of wings sprang out of Lucinda’s back and swept round to shield her small demon.

The demon chanting tailed off and they all got down on their knees again.

Lucifer stared at his daughter’s wings.  He could tell, from the look on her face, that she had had _no_ idea that they existed.  In the lighting of Lux: Hell, they looked black with a soft sheen that reflected the club’s lighting.

“I am taking this one with me.”  She said, confidently, her voice reverberating around the club.

One of the least human looking of the demons stood up.

“I have better offspring than _that_ one, Majesty.  Allow me to offer you your choice of the litter.”  It - Lucinda couldn’t tell what sex the demon was - said.

“I _have_ my choice.”  She said, and felt the little creature tighten its grip on her arm.  Lucifer stood ready to intervene if this went wrong but he was happy to see how his newly winged daughter handled the situation.

“Majesty, Filthy-Ash-That-Hides-In-Shadowy-Corners is _not_ worthy of your attention and is destined for the ‘hunting of the runts’, a cull that we have, to keep our kind free of weakness.”  The demon sounded reasonable but firm.

“No.  She has willingly shed blood for me and is now under _my_ protection.”

There was an ominous sound across the club as the demons produced various weapons.  Lucifer rolled his eyes, was he going to have to intervene, after all?

“You would offer us the alternative entertainment of a _fight_ , Majesty?”  One of the demons said, waving a large knife around.

“I think I can do better than _that_ ,”  Lucinda said, with a smirk.  “Hell is on the net, now; how about a streaming subscription?”

There was a ripple of interest from the crowd.

“Deal, Majesty.”  Was the eventual verdict.

Lucinda went back into the club and set it up.  Lucifer was no longer worried about the amount of time they were spending here, his daughter had _wings_ , the inherent dangers of this dimension couldn’t touch her _and_ she seemed to be getting along with the locals, too.

As they were leaving, the various flat screens around the club started showing episode one of the old classic, ‘Game of Thrones’, while the demons watched in rapt silence…

***

In the glaring light of the desert sun, Lucinda’s wings weren’t black at all, they were iridescent with all the colours of the rainbow.  She stretched them out and flapped them, experimentally.

“I thought you’d like to try them out.”  Lucifer said,  “No one should see you, out here.”

“Sounds good.”  She put her bag down on a rock and turned to her new friend.  “Your name is very long and derogatory, is it alright if I call you ‘Ash’?

Ash chirped a yes.

“Would you like to stay here and look after my bag, while I learn to fly?  You’ll probably be _safer_ down here.”

Again a yes.

“So, how do I do this?”  She asked her father.

“First, I need to make sure that the muscles are strong enough.”  He put his hands around her waist and held her high above his head.  “Try to flap, as hard as you can.”

She flapped.  He smiled in approval, he could feel her lifting away from him.  He gradually relaxed his hold on her until she was hovering, then let go.  He backed away from her and she instinctively followed.

“That’s perfect, stay this close to the ground.  If you get tired or make a wrong move, you won’t hurt yourself, too much.”  She instantly started to fly.  “And don’t go further away than you can comfortably walk back from.  And _don‘t_ crash land onto a cactus.”  He shouted after her.  He turned to Ash.  “Now, little one,”  He said,  “Some ground rules…”

***

She was a much more sensible flier than _he_ had been on _his_ first flight.  She flew in lazy circles around where he waited, trying out manoeuvres and getting the feel for it.  Flying, she discovered, was largely instinctive but very tiring and she was more than ready to stop when she came to a graceful landing - she’d practiced where he couldn’t watch her - next to the rock where her father waited.  He was playing with his phone.

Ash was still curled up, protectively, on Lucinda’s bag but she looked different.  She seemed to have morphed into the shape of a kitten.  A kitten with an overly thick tail and a forked tongue but still, if you didn’t look _too_ closely…

“What did you do?”  Lucinda asked, suspiciously.

Lucifer looked the picture of innocence.

“I explained to her that it would be easier if she blended in and I showed her some pictures on my phone and she liked this one…”

“Meow.”  Ash deadpanned, sounding nothing like a cat.

“Yes, well, _that_ part needs some work.”

The little demon laughed; ironically the sound was more cat like than the ‘meow’ had been.

“So long as you don’t _talk_ around people who are not family.”  Lucinda said, smiling.  “Let’s go home and see if the world has changed, yet.”

“You mean it’s already _started_?”  Lucifer asked, shaken.

“There should be something quantifiable by now, yeah.”  Lucinda said, glancing at her watch.  “The _worst_ people will cave first, it’ll be interesting to see _how_ they choose to alleviate their guilt.”

***

A Year Later

 

The world had changed - very few people knew why - over night on what Lucinda called ‘Day One’, the remaining notorious dictatorships in the world had become democracies, when their leaders unexpectedly resigned, donating their accumulated wealth to their people and turning themselves in for their crimes.

Normally such people would have then been _murdered_ by the very ones they had oppressed but now?  No one had the heart or stomach for killing each other, not even killing the hated guilty. 

Confession was the new big thing, the police were inundated with people giving themselves up, confessing and donating ill-gotten gains to charities.  People started to be kind to each other and, importantly, to the planet they were living on.

Prison had to be rethought, though.  With so many ‘new’ criminals and so few people willing to lock up another human being, community service became popular with the guilty, happy to do something useful and pay their debt with hard work.  It went without saying that no one re-offended.

“This was what _I_ tried to do.”  Jace said, smiling. 

They were all together in the main living area of Lucifer and Chloe’s house.  Trixie was home from med school and Lucinda was sprawled on the sofa just like a _normal_ teen, Ash draped across her lap.

“You had two problems that _I_ didn’t have,”  She said, with a small smile.  “You couldn’t reach _everyone_ simultaneously and you couldn’t reach into their _minds_ \- show them _consequences_.”

“Don’t forget that I had to _die_ just to get their _attention_.”  He said, sipping his wine.  “Nowadays, all it takes is a youtube video of a cat.”

“I told you dying wouldn’t be worth it.”  Lucifer said, smugly.

“You did.”  His half-brother agreed.

“ _This_ time it was fairly easy, _everyone_ has the internet and once the subliminal ‘Hell-spark’ was inside people’s heads, the guilt and empathy started to take hold…”  She shrugged.

“You’ve put _me_ out of a job.”  Maze growled.  “Ungrateful brat.”  She added, fondly.

“Sorry, Maze.”

“Ultimately, a _lot_ of people will be out of jobs.”  Chloe said.  “Police, soldiers, weapons manufacturers…”

“It’s not like they’ll starve.”  Jace said.  “People don’t get greedy anymore and they help each other out.  Homelessness is a thing of the past.  Governments are putting more resources into medical and scientific research.  Space exploration will be peaceful.”

“And Heaven will start filling up.”  Lucifer said, smirking at Jace.

“Yeah.  No one will go to Hell anymore, _I‘m_ going to be busy.”

“What’s going to _happen_ to Hell?”  Chloe asked.

“Those already down there will stay.”  Lucifer said, firmly.  He had been down to check and found that the ‘Hell-spark’ had also had an effect on the demons that worked there.  Fortunately, the souls imprisoned in Hell were dead and the demons didn’t consider they qualified for kind treatment but there would be no more ‘Runt Hunts’, or fighting amongst the workforce.

Now he could _really_ enjoy his retirement.

 

 

The End

 

 


End file.
